IPG Mediabrands hires APAC CEO from OMG

ASIA-PACIFIC - IPG Mediabrandshas has named Leigh Terry, ANZ CEO at Omnicom Media Group, as CEO of IPG Mediabrands in Asia Pacific. He will start the new role at the end of the year.

Simultaneously, OMG announced that it has promoted Peter Horgan, who was Australia CEO of OMD, to fill Terry's role as CEO of Australia and New Zealand.

Mediabrands has been without a top person in the region since Prashant Kumar resigned as president of world markets and CEO of IPG's Malaysia office in March. The company at the time appointed Bala Pomaleh as CEO in Malaysia but said it was moving away from its previous cluster model and toward a more traditional geographic organisational structure.

“Asia Pacific is a key priority for regional investment over the next five years,” said global CEO Henry Tajer in a statement. “The region continues to hold enormous potential for our clients and our business, and Leigh possesses the talent, experience and vision to deliver on the plans we have in place.”

Tajer said Terry was on IPG's "most-wanted list" for some time.

As CEO of OMG in Australia and New Zealand, Terry oversaw 900 people in 16 offices. The company said he will partner with Reg Davidson, formerly CFO of IPG Mediabrands Australia, who was named CFO of Mediabrands Asia Pacific earlier this year.

Horgan will report to Cheuk Chiang, CEO of OMG Asia Pacific, and will be in charge of all OMG assets and brands in Australia and New Zealand, including OMD, PHD, M2M, Foundation, Dynamo, Resolution, Accuen, Annalect and Airwave.