Ko (pictured) joined DraftFCB in 2010 and was responsible for overall account management of key accounts including Bausch and Lomb, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), Cigna Insurance, Chinese Pharmaceutical. He also led new business development for the Hong Kong office.
Ko would like to explore other career options, Lo said, adding that DraftFCB will not be filling the managing partner's role. Instead the agency will bring on a new business director this April.
"With my two year tenure in DraftFCB, I was happy to work in one of the best agencies with strong creativity and accountability, an agency which is a true believer in their ROI approach, which is branded 'Return On Ideas', Ko told Campaign. "Without the support of the team, we won't be able to land a handful of blue chips clients such as Chow Tai Fook Jewellery, PPS, Hong Kong Land, and Sands Macau in such a short period of time."
Meanwhile Queenie Fan, who was previously group account director at M&C Saatchi and has also held senior roles at Ogilvy & Mather and Leo Burnett, has joined DraftFCB Hong Kong as business director. Since beginning the role in late 2011, she has taken on business leadership for clients including HKTDC, Beiersdorf, Osim, and New World Property.
Fan’s work has been recognised with awards including the Hong Kong EFFIE and HKMA/TVB Awards for clients such as 1O1O, Yeung Gwong Local Cafe Lemon Tea, and Elements.
Lo said that the new business director, together with Fan, will lead the account servicing department of the DraftFCB Hong Kong office.
As reported early last year, DraftFCB Hong Kong has beefed up its creative team with the hire of Timothy Chan and Ming Chan as group creative directors.
Editor's note: A change was made to this article after initial publication. Benny Ko's title was originally given as "managing partner", which was correct at the time of his promotion in 2010. The agency has since changed its title conventions and no longer has "managing partners", according to Iris Lo. Ko told Campaign that he was informed of the title change but chose to resign rather than accept it.