Johan Vakidis returns to adland as Publicis China CCO

Publicis China has appointed Johan Vakidis as chief creative officer, relieving the creative duties of Sheena Jeng, who had served as CCO and China chair since February 2012. Jeng retains her role as China chair.

Vakidis joins Publicis from the Walt Disney Company, where he had digital creative oversight for more than a year. He was previously at R/GA, AKQA, and OgilvyOne before the client-side stint. He has worked in China for the last 18 years and speaks fluent Chinese. 

"I am extremely thankful to The Walt Disney Company, the amazing people I have met there and for all that I have learnt," Vakidis told Campaign China. "Yet this decision to move on is strongly driven by a desire to create things on a different level, create many things, simultaneously."

He will be tasked with leading multidisciplinary creative teams across Publicis Worldwide, Nurun, Publicis Wangfan, Publicis Commerce, Publicis Vivid, Publicis Life Brands, and 133SH. He will work with clients including Nestle, Heineken, Pernod Ricard, L’Oreal, Tencent and Huawei.

Both Vakidis and Jeng will report to David Gompel, COO of Publicis Communications and CEO of Publicis Worldwide Greater China. Vakidis' "unique talent and reputation for cutting-edge creative ideas will accelerate the momentum of The Power of One", commented Gompel.

Sheena Jeng