Connie Chan leaves WPP to lead OMD China

The wait for a new CEO is over at OMD China. Connie Chan, who has spent close to 15 years in leadership roles with WPP in Singapore, will be moving to Shanghai to lead the Omnicom Media Group (OMG) agency in China with its three offices in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou.

Chan has most recently been the executive director of WPP’s government and public sector practice, working with government and public sector communicators to help them innovate and build new marketing capabilities. Before that, Chan was the first client officer for APAC at MEC (now merged with Maxus into Wavemaker), where she was responsible for the agency’s top 10 APAC clients including Chanel, Tiffany, Mercedes-Benz, Singapore Airlines and Citibank.

Chan will be working with OMG's China CEO, Claudine Kwek, who has played a large role in OMD China's operations since joining in March 2019 (also from WPP), along with OMD's APAC CEO, Stephen Li. Chan fills the CEO role vacated by Aaron Wild, who resigned in May 2019.  

“We were deliberately measured in our search because we wanted to find a leader who has the experience, tenacity and calibre to successfully steer the OMD business in China,” said Kwek. “We are excited to have found the right candidate in Connie. With her extensive experience, coupled with her sharp business acumen, we have the utmost confidence in her ability to build on the success and momentum of the agency,” she added.

That momentum comes from a string of recent wins including Lindt & Sprüngli AG and Daimler AG, which have helped to remove much of the sting from losing its key McDonald's account in May. OMD's other key clients in China include Apple, Yili, Estee Lauder and Beiersdorf.