Tan departs GroupM to join Astro as COO

KUALA LUMPUR - Henry Tan (pictured), chief executive of GroupM Malaysia and Singapore, is leaving to join Astro as chief operating officer.

Tan confirmed the move, but would not comment further on the news.

He spent 17 months running GroupM Malaysia as well as Singapore, an additional role he was handed following the departure of former GroupM South and Southeast Asia CEO Andre Nair.

Mark Patterson, GroupM Asia-Pacific COO, said the search was underway for a successor, and would be interviewing internal and external candidates.

“Henry is an outstanding individual in many ways,” said Patterson. “He has been one of our most accomplished leaders. He was there at the formation of MindShare and has served the network brilliantly for 10 years. He will be a hard act to follow. ”

Astro is one of Southeast Asia’s largest commercial radio, satellite television and magazine publishers, with operations in Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia.