He will assume the top job in January 2010 from 28-year Ogilvy veteran Marcia Silverman, who has led the PR firm for seven years and at the age of 65 will become chairwoman of Ogilvy PR.
“[Ogilvy] took a risk with me when I joined; I was an outsider, not even someone in the industry,” said Graves, who previously worked at CNBC. “I didn’t come from a competitor and that worked in Ogilvy’s favour,” he said.
“[Ogilvy] took a risk with me when I joined; I was an outsider, not even someone in the industry,” said Graves, who previously worked at CNBC. “I didn’t come from a competitor and that worked in Ogilvy’s favour,” he said.
“We will be searching now for a replacement – both internally and outside. It’s not about the person’s track record or performance only, but it’s a huge cultural thing as to whether they will fit into Ogilvy.”
Graves is the third senior Ogilvy Asia executive to move into a global role, following the appointment of Miles Young as Ogilvy worldwide CEO and Tham Khai Meng as global creative chief.
Watch a video interview with Chris Graves talking about his new role tomorrow morning on Media TV.
