Agency John Brown hires Anthony Yang as Shanghai MD

Yang (pictured) will exercise his pioneering spirit to nurture the 18-month-old John Brown Shanghai office, which currently has a small staff but is actively expanding and recruiting new talent.

He will also be responsible for the Hong Kong office,  looking after clients such as the Shangri La Hotels, Moët Hennessy Diageo, Pfizer, Swire Hotels, Sino Land and Nespresso, as well as driving business growth in China.

A 15-year industry veteran from Hong Kong, Yang began in traditional advertising business management and strategy planning before moving to focus on multi-platform solutions.

He has been working in China since 2002 with Saatchi & Saatchi in Guangzhou and Shanghai, respectively. His last role with the agency was as director of client service, specialising in interactive development and holistic solutions for multinational clients such as Nippon Paint, Mead Johnson and Kraft.

Reported last December, John Brown has acquired Hong Kong home-grown digital agency Kleio—its first acquisition in Asia to support its expansion in the region.

Yang commented that John Brown is known for its quality and innovation in magazine publishing and has successfully extended these talents to broader branded content material for clients, including digital and social media. 

"They also now have the added advantage of being able to do all this globally with offices worldwide, and I am looking forward to leading their Shanghai and Hong Kong offices,” he added.

John Brown has been producing world-leading branded content since 1987, and has long-standing relationships with John Lewis, Royal Bank of Scotland, Orange, Waitrose, and has produced successful case studies for Chelsea FC.