Omnicom Media Group agency OMD is bolstering its regional leadership structure with the appointment of Charlotte Lee as CEO for its operations across APAC. In her new role, Lee will lead OMD APAC’s business operations and work with clients from many of the world’s most prolific brands, including McDonald’s, Beiersdorf and Philips. Based in Singapore, Lee will report directly to Tony Harradine, CEO, Omnicom Media Group, APAC, and George Manas, CEO, OMD Worldwide.
In line with fortifying OMD’s firepower in APAC, David McCallen, Chief Strategy Officer, OMD New Zealand, has been elevated to the role of Chief Strategy Officer, OMD APAC. Rounding up OMD’s regional talent bench is Matthew Ho, appointed as OMG APAC’s Chief Client Officer, with a dedicated focus on OMD and its clients. Collectively, the trio will be tasked with expanding OMD’s momentum in the region by collaborating with local leadership to drive growth and efficiency, foster strong client partnerships and leverage the agency’s future-facing offerings to help clients unlock new solutions to making Better Decisions, Faster.
With two decades of global, regional and local experience across North America and Asia Pacific, Lee was previously Regional Managing Director for Mindshare in APAC, where she led global accounts such as Dyson, Facebook and Zespri, in addition to serving as the agency’s regional client lead for new business. In a prior role within Mindshare, Lee served as the WPP lead for the HSBC APAC business, mobilising best in class expertise for the client across WPP agencies in the region. She also played a pivotal role in launching the agency’s APAC digital performance hubs for HSBC and Dyson, leading multi-disciplinary teams including strategy, activation, data & analytics in support of the clients’ digital transformation journey.
No stranger to the OMD family, McCallen joins the regional leadership bench from OMD New Zealand, where he has helped shape one of the agency’s most successful runs, delivering substantial new business wins as well as a consistent stream of success across local and international award shows such as Cannes Lion, Spikes Asia, Effies and D&AD. Prior to joining OMD, McCallen has amassed experience from both client and agency side and across brand, customer experience and media.
As Chief Client Officer, Ho brings with him a wealth of experience, having worked extensively in the technology and media sector, specialising in strategy, sales and marketing, business development, and digital transformation. Prior to assuming his current role, Ho was at Facebook Malaysia where he managed MNC businesses across SEA and was on the Global Client Partner Advisory council. Before that, Ho was Huawei’s Regional Director for the Southern Pacific region.
Commenting on the leadership team, Harradine says, “Charlotte’s demonstrated expertise in client management, business operations and product strategy translates to a singular advantage for OMD in APAC, as we look to
leverage emerging opportunities for our clients and our organisation. Add in the combined skills and experience of David and Matthew, and clients have the perfect equation and partner in OMD. In an evolving business landscape, the roles that media agencies play have become more critical than ever, and these appointments are designed to help our clients navigate the new realities of digital acceleration, e-commerce and consumer attention.”
Echoing the same sentiment, Manas says, “APAC is an extremely strategic market for OMD, one that is starting to set the pace and agenda for global clients and agencies alike. Coupled with their impressive track records, the appointments of Charlotte, David and Matthew underscore our commitment to creating actionable and measurable solutions for our clients through a reimagined and reignited agency offering. Together with our local market leaders, the three of them will assure OMD continues to deliver Better Decisions, Faster to drive better business results for our clients.”
Lee will officially start with OMD in July 2022, while McCallen and Ho assume their roles immediately.
