Leo Burnett Shanghai hires Shanghai native as head of planning

Stefan Petzinger, Leo Burnett Shanghai MD, said he is excited to hire a Shanghai native as planning head, as few locals in China possess the experience to handle the job and most such roles are filled by imported talent.

"Especially when it comes to planning, understanding local consumers is mandatory, and there is only so much that you can learn from research,” he said. "Zhu (pictured) also used to be a researcher, client and account guy before he became a planner. This is something that we love because it allows him to have different POVs on things."

Zhu will be responsible for all planning for key clients including Coca-Cola, Siemens, Skoda and Anta, as well as for developing the six-person planning department.

Prior to DDB, he worked for digital agency SapientNitro. "He is a very integrated and a mature planner,” Petzinger said.

A DDB China spokersperson said the agency is actively looking for a replacement for Zhu’s role.