Stephen Li departs as OMD APAC CEO

Stephen Li, APAC CEO of Omnicom Media Group (OMG) agency OMD since 2015, has resigned from his role, Campaign Asia-Pacific has confirmed.

Li officially remains with the agency until the end of November but is now on gardening leave.

He became the APAC CEO in 2015, taking over from Steve Blakeman.

A search for a replacement is underway. Tony Harradine, CEO of OMG APAC, will be stepping in as CEO of OMD in the interim.

"We would like to thank Stephen for his contributions," Harradine said in a statement provided to Campaign Asia-Pacific. "He leaves OMD in a position of strength. Our client satisfaction scores are at an all-time high, we have been winning new businesses from a robust pipeline. But most importantly, we are continuing to be the best partner to our clients. We wish Stephen all the best in his future endeavours."

Li said the decision came after some reflection.

"For those who know me well, doing great client work with a talented bunch of people, as well as grooming future leaders, have always been my key driver and motivation," he said. "There has been an abundance of this at OMD over the last five years. However, I’ve been doing a lot of self-reflection over the last year, and while helping clients ignite powerful brand stories will remain my passion, there’s a part of me that wants to explore opportunities to give back—both inside and outside of our industry. As such, it’s now time to move on. I want to thank OMD and OMG for the years of opportunities and I wish them great success. But above all, I’m grateful for all the great clients and colleagues that I had the privilege to spend time with."