Former Acxiom head Allen Xu named OgilvyOne MD in Shanghai

A Chinese native with an MBA degree from Northwestern University and more than 15 years spent on business management roles as well as hands-on entrepreneurial experience, Xu claimed to have quadrupled Acxiom China's revenue in five years since he started in October 2007.

Though his expertise lies in mining business insights from big data analysis, Xu "revels in campaigns in which the sciences intersect with art to create brand impact and deliver business results", according to a press release.

"I have spent most of my career so far in leading businesses in consulting and technology services, but I also have a great interest in the arts," Xu explained his reason for joining the digital agency. "I have always seen myself as both a left-brain discipliner and a right-brain dreamer who likes to tackle challenges with knowledge and creativity."

Furthermore, his 15-month stint at McKinsey more than a decade ago will come into play in his new role, he added, as he is tasked to expand OgilvyOne's little-known consulting offering, which specialises in market entry in a digital context, CRM strategy, usability research, data monitoring and analysis.

On the heels of Jacco ter Schegget’s appointment as president of OgilvyOne China six months ago, the agency has also promoted 10-year Ogilvy & Mather (O&M) veteran Lily Tung (董莉莉, pictured) to managing director of OgilvyOne Beijing at the same time.

A native Chinese educated in Hong Kong and at Harvard Business School, Tung has a breadth of digital marketing experience that spans China and Singapore. Under Tung’s watch, her team brought home the first-ever ECHO Gold creative award for a Chinese agency. Her internal shift echos the shift of marketing communications at a rapid pace due to technology and big data.

She succeeds Daniel Tao (陶炼丹), who has taken up the role of executive vice president of O&M Guangzhou.

These two individuals are the "highest performers in our industry”, said ter Schegget.