His decision comes almost two years after he took on the dual roles and launched Neo@Ogilvy as Ogilvy’s digital media investment arm in this region in January 2006.
Mandel told Media that increasing travel commitments were the key factor behind his decision. “I love my job, but to do this job properly, you have to go the countries and that’s inversely related to the well-being of my family,” he said.
While Mandel’s next destination remains unclear, he points out that remaining at an agency is “not necessarily my first choice”.
“Frankly, if I’m going to work for an agency I think Ogilvy would be the best,” said Mandel. “(But) the agency model is very challenging right now and it’s not scaleable - that’s not a reason for me to leave, but I will consider these factors when I look for my next role.”
OgilvyOne Asia president Kent Wertime said that the agency was still considering whether to name a like-for-like replacement for Mandel, noting that current Neo@-Ogilvy MD Susana Tsui already plays a major role in the day-to-day running of the division.
“It was a very tough decision for him to make,” said Wertime. “We held out every opportunity in terms of possibly discussing other roles, including Singapore-based, but he thought it was the right time to leave. Effectively, Susana Tsui has been running a lot of it day-to-day and she takes on more responsibility. Ken’s also done his job very effectively; there’s a lot of good people doing digital.”
During his tenure at Ogilvy, Mandel helped launch Neo from scratch to its current headcount of more than 200 across the region, and rolled out the group’s digital innovation lab in Singapore. He also played a significant role on Ogilvy’s digital acquisition strategy.
Mandel arrived at Ogilvy after seven years at XM, now part of the JWT family. His departure from Ogilvy follows two high-profile global defections in recent months: OgilvyOne regional CD Dirk Eschenbacher’s shift to Tribal DDB, and New York co-president Andy Berndt’s move to Google - moves which many observers have linked with the fierce demand for digital talent.
