Chris Chiu confirms Leo Burnett reunion
After three years running his own venture, Chris Chiu is returning to Leo Burnett Singapore as chief creative officer, as predicted by Mumbrella last week.
In an interview with Marketing today, Chiu confirmed the move, and said that his current venture, Ren Partnership, will keep going for the time being, but eventually bring staff and some remaining clients into the Leo Burnett fold before closing.
Chiu will report to Leo Burnett’s APAC boss Jarek Ziebinksi. The head of the Singapore office is Josh Grace, who is two and a half years into his role as MD having moved from the network’s Sydney office.
Ren Partnership lost lynchpin client KFC, which it handled for about a year, to Ogilvy Singapore, Mumbrella reported on Friday when speculation of Chiu’s departure emerged.
Chiu worked for Leo Burnett for more than a decade, firstly as ECD of the Indonesian office, then in Bangkok and finally in Singapore, where he was group ECD for more than five years.
Leo Burnett has been struggling to find the right creative leader for its Singapore office since the departure of Ted Lim, who left to join Dentsu Aegis in early 2013. Tim Green and Clarence Chiew have come and gone since then.
The agency lost key client UOB in October last year.
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