SHANGHAI JWT's China partners are breaking with tradition, bringing in international talent as they bid to improve service and creative standards.
Guangzhou agency NewSun/JWT has appointed Stephen Mui as its new ECD. Mui, who joins in March, has been with Leo Burnett in China for five years, most recently as ECD of its Beijing office.
Meanwhile, another of JWT's partners - Shanghai's Always Marketing Services - has named Kendy Chiu as vice-president, following its late-2006 hire of Gary Fung as general manager.
Chiu was previously operations director at Leo Burnett Guangzhou, while Fung ran his own agency - Zenith Integrated Communication - for the past three years, prior to which he was regional MD of IDG in Hong Kong for 10 years.
"We hired an ECD from an MNC agency to help us upgrade our creative quality to an international standard and provide the best combination of the values between international wisdom and local insights to the Chinese clients," said New Sun/JWT president James Wong.
NewSun's clients include Huawei Technologies, China Mobile, and TCL Computer.
"We will keep our focus on the top 500 China's local companies in the next five years, but we can also serve MNC clients through JWT's alliance," added Wong.
"Local agencies are becoming more aggressive in absorbing international talent especially after WTO entry," said Always CEO Cai Hua.