Carol Lam, MD and chief creative officer, bids farewell to McCann Shanghai

This is the third resignation among McCann China's long-serving creative leaders in the past month, following the departures of Vincent Pang, executive creative director, reported on 29 May, and Canon Wu, chief creative officer of Momentum China, reported yesterday.

It is understood that Lam (pictured) has secured a new job, but prefers to announce the new move in due course.

Lam previously worked for McCann Hong Kong on the Cathay Pacific account for close to five years, and was executive creative director for TBWA Shanghai before returning to McCann to take up the dual role as MD and chief creative officer of McCann-Erickson Shanghai in 2010.

In less than 12 months, she led the company to numerous new business wins, including Bank of Communication Credit Card and Swire Properties.

"I have decided to leave my position at McCann Shanghai to pursue other opportunities within the industry," Lam told Campaign Asia-Pacific. "I've thoroughly enjoyed the last two years at McCann in China, where I was responsible for running some of the agency's high-profile accounts such as L'Oreal, Bank of Communication Credit Card, and Swire Properties. It has been a privilege working with the China management team as they continue the transformation of the China operation, and I have no doubt of their future success."

Lam also expressed gratitude to McCann for giving her a lot of opportunities and a creative platform.

"We would like to take this opportunity to thank Carol for her ongoing commitment to the Shanghai office and wish her well in her future role,” said Jesse Lin, chief executive officer, McCann Worldgroup Greater China.

Trained as a journalist, Lam began her career as a copywriter in Hong Kong. In a 22-year career including postings with Saatchi & Saatchi, Leo Burnett, JWT, Ogilvy, McCann-Erickson and most recently TBWA Shanghai and McCann Shanghai, she has worked on award-winning campaigns for Cathay Pacific, McDonald’s, P&G, Shell, adidias, Nivea, Standard Chartered Bank and DBS, among others.

Lam is a familiar face on jury panels for many international and local creative awards and was an honorable speaker at Cannes in 2009, where she shared her insights on how a new breed of female creatives are driving Asia forward.