While FCB Southeast Asia area director Bhaskar Rao termed the shifts "completely coincidental", Gaxiola noted that both he and Yeo had "gone about as far as we could at FCB Singapore, (and) in the end we felt it was time to move on".
For Bates, the appointment marks the culmination of a lengthy search to replace previous ECD Petter Gulli, who announced his intention to depart the agency in March. "It wasn't easy finding the right person for this role," said Bates Singapore MD Peter Skalberg. "As the Singapore office of BatesAsia creates work not just for Singapore but also the region and the world, the ECD needs to have both an international outlook as well as local understanding."
For Bates, the appointment marks the culmination of a lengthy search to replace previous ECD Petter Gulli, who announced his intention to depart the agency in March. "It wasn't easy finding the right person for this role," said Bates Singapore MD Peter Skalberg. "As the Singapore office of BatesAsia creates work not just for Singapore but also the region and the world, the ECD needs to have both an international outlook as well as local understanding."
At Ogilvy, meanwhile, MD Mark Wong pointed to Yeo's "right experience and accolades under his belt. I'm sure he will be a good coach and mentor for our young and immensely talented team".
At FCB, Gaxiola oversaw 22 OneShow wins, including four Pencils. Rao noted that the recent global win of Motorola's interactive business necessitated greater creative expertise in the digital, interactive and CRM areas, and also added that regional creative director Rob Sherlock would support the office.
"Rob has grown tremendously over the past few years -- and it's only natural he needs to move on to broaden his experience," said Sherlock. "Rob and Eric have contributed significantly towards our creative growth -- and it's a momentum we intend to maintain."
