The independent agency has named Daisy Ching as new managing director and promoted former director of strategic planning Keith Chan to the role of GM. The search for a new ECD continues.
It is thought that Lee, who followed Chan from Grey to WE when the agency was founded in 2005, has departed to launch his own agency.
It is thought that Lee, who followed Chan from Grey to WE when the agency was founded in 2005, has departed to launch his own agency.
He could not be reached to confirm this or to comment on his future plans.
Ching joins from Soho Square Shanghai, where she was MD.
Prior to Soho Square, Ching worked for over 10 years with WE Marketing chairman Viveca Chan (pictured) at Grey, where she handled key MNC accounts such as P&G and Glaxo SmithKline.
“Her role is to maintain our group’s vision in building a successful Chinese-owned international agency and combing the strength of Eastern and Western cultures,” said Chan.
“We want to help our local clients to go global and help international clients be localised in China.”
Chan added that it was becoming difficult to recruit senior talent in Hong Kong, because of the lure of the China market. “There are a lot more opportunities in the China market,” she said.
“It’s very difficult to recruit senior creative or management executives as they feel that if they need to move up the career ladder, they need to move to the mainland, unlike in the past when China used to be considered a place of hardship for Hong Kong agency talent.” said Chan.
“But we want to be like an international agency where, even after the founder leaves, the company still lives on,” she added.
“We are hoping to groom our senior people to take over our jobs in the future, and not just depend on one or two people,”
Since its launch, WE has built a network of four offices with more than 200 staff in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing and Nanjing, offering creative and media.