GroupM appoints Vietnam CEO

GroupM has appointed Neil Hardwick as Vietnam CEO.

Based in Ho Chi Minh City, Hardwick replaces Ed Thesiger, who left the network and returned to the UK last year.

Hardwick, who began in the role this week, comes from GroupM EMEA, where he was CEO for Russia and CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) for nine years until 2017, and most recently was interim CEO of GroupM Poland and interim MENA head for Wavemaker.

Before this, Hardwick held senior roles at Publicis and Saatchi & Saatchi in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. He told Campaign Asia-Pacific that GroupM has “a long history and very strong position” in Vietnam, which he is eager to further develop.

“It is a genuine honour and pleasure to join the GroupM Vietnam team and strive do all we can to help our clients and our media partners develop their brands and businesses to their full potential in a uniquely Vietnamese way,” he added.

Mark Patterson, GroupM APAC CEO, said: “Neil is a real pro and a proven high calibre GroupM country leader in major and fast growing markets, just the type of person we wanted to head our group in Vietnam. I couldn’t be more optimistic about the business and our people there.”