Publicis regional chairman Guillaume Levy-Lambert said the ultimate goal was to "make Publicis Singapore into a very credible hub for international business".
Godfrey will assume some of the responsibilities previously handled by Publicis Singapore chief executive officer Mike Stepan, who is due to retire at the end of February. Stepan is succeeded by current MD Thomas Neo. "One of (Godfrey's) first priorities will be to have (Neo) reinforce Singapore to make it a hub for international business," said Levy-Lambert. "Another key task will be to look at how we manage our top three clients -- HP, L'Oréal and Nestlé -- and determine what steps we should take to improve quality of our delivery, and also move all these accounts to a more holistic management."
Levy-Lambert admitted that Publicis' motto of 'La holistic difference' was still "more of a stated ambition than a reality" in Asia, and said that more resources would be devoted to building its below-the-line Publicis Dialog arm.
Publicis sharpens 'regional hub' role of Singapore office
Publicis' appoint- ment of Bates Asia COO Matthew Godfrey as regional head of international clients is the first in a series of moves designed to turn the network's Singapore office into a true regional hub.
