Briggs was a key player in cementing McCann’s longstanding relationship with Cathay Pacific. After the business was awarded, he and his family moved to Hong Kong, where Briggs, according to colleagues, “changed the direction of the agency by increasing the professionalism and upgrading the business”.
Briggs built the global team that still services this large complex account, which remains a cornerstone of McCann’s Hong Kong business.
Promoted to chairman of McCann Hong Kong in early 1994, Briggs expanded the business considerably. “Mike was a great boss, a real inspiration and a driving force for change,” said a former colleague.
In 1997, he was tasked with merging the McCann Erickson Hong Kong and Guangming operations. “It was a difficult job and he knew it would mean that his time in Hong Kong was finished, but he did it faithfully anyway,” a source comments.
After leaving Asia, Briggs retired to pursue other passions - his family, golf, fishing and the stock market.
He is survived by wife Diana, son Adam and daughter Claire.
