Leo Burnett Vietnam's David Lester to retire after 35 years

Lester has worked across Australia, the UK, Indonesia and Vietnam with the network, spending a total of 11 years in Asia, of which nine years were leading the office in Vietnam.

“I always wanted to retire while I feel I am making a contribution to our client’s business, our staff and the growth of the agency. My years in Asia have been very special to me,” he said.

Jarek Ziebinski, president at Leo Burnett & Arc Asia Pacific, said, “We’d like to take this opportunity to express our deepest gratitude to David for his effort and contribution towards the development and growth of Leo Burnett Vietnam as well as wish him the very best.”

Following Lester's departure, Lukasz Roszczyc has been appointed to head the agency, effective 15 November. Lester will remain as a consultant to the agency until 31 January, to ensure a smooth transition.

Roszczyc was formerly with Leo Burnett Almaty, a regional hub for clients such as Phillip Morris, Procter & Gamble and Samsung. He contributed to the development of Leo Burnett operations in Central Asia, establishing majority-owned Black Pencil division through local agency acquisition and further evolving it into fully-owned Leo Burnett agency, growing the team from 12 to 40 employees.

Commenting on Roszczyc’s appointment, Ziebinski said,” Having worked with Lukasz during his days in Almaty, I know he has the talent and drive that we need to re-energise Leo Burnett Vietnam and accelerate the growth of the office. As different as the two markets are, his experience in Central Asia in the last decade, which underwent a transformational phase, bears some similarities to the dynamics existing in Vietnam, and will no doubt aid him in his new role.”

Concurrently, Leo Burnett Vietnam has also promoted Nguyen Ha Vinh, general manager at Leo Burnett Vietnam, to deputy managing director.