Li Yifei resigns from Publicis Groupe China; joins Man Group PLC

Li (pictured), who was promoted to chief strategic development officer for Publicis Groupe China in  September, has already given notice to the company but will stay on board until Andras Vigh can join.

In October, it was reported that Publicis veteran Vigh would take the role of country chair for Publicis CHina, but would only join the network in Shanghai after the Chinese New Year holiday in late January. It is understood Li will stay until at least then.

A senior agency source, formerly with Publicis Groupe in China, said Li was a "mis-fit" for the agency and role. "She's good at corporate PR, government and local enterprise relationships," the source said, but noted that the matrix structure of agencies within Publicis required a great deal of patience and leadership to make things happen.

Man Group is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is part of the FTSE 100 Index, with a market capitalisation of around US$4 billion. Man is also part of the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index and the FTSE4Good Index.

Peter Clarke, chief executive of Man, said the appointment signalled the importance of China to the company's future development. "We are already extremely well-represented in terms of trading, sales and distribution in Asia, and expansion in China is the natural next step," he said. "Yifei Li is widely recognised in the region for her extensive experience managing multinationals’ growth in the region and we are thrilled that she will be leading Man’s drive to establish its presence there.”

Li has 18 years of senior management experience and previously worked with GLG Partners, an investment firm that was acquired by Man in October last year. She was previously managing director of MTV Networks Greater China, and chief representative of Viacom China.

Pierre Lagrange, chairman of Man Asia says Li's previous experience with GLG would be an added bonus for the group. "At Man and GLG we have a long history of investing in China and I am confident that Yifei will successfully deliver our goal of expanding in the region," he said. "Her prior experience representing GLG also means she has an excellent understanding of the investment management industry.”

Man has been in Asia for over 15 years, having first established a distribution office in Hong Kong in 1995. It now has extensive resources in the region, with offices in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore, and Sydney. As of the end of September this year, 23 per cent of Man's global funds under management came from Asia.

Reported earlier this year, Publicis Groupe has acquired Chinese digital agency Wangfan and Genedigi Group in China, and Interactive Communications in Taiwan, while former Publics China CEO Sheena Jeng has joined DDB Taiwan as co-president and chief creative officer.