Leo Burnett Singapore CEO Chris Chiu leaves eight months after rejoining former agency

Quit? Please, I do hope people are not that naive to think that.

Chris Chiu is a respected figure and good on him for leaving

I feel sorry for the people working in all 3 companies and I suppose Dentsu as well…the &^%#tards running agencies these days have lost sight of the truth that fear constipates creativity and chokes the life out of it.

I am sure nothing worthwhile comes out of these creative departments either….so I can imagine the downward spiral this has created….I’ll be stunned if they win any more pitches from now on or do any decent work.

A bloody shame if you ask me.

Chris lived and breathed Leo Burnett for over a decade. He was passionate for the brand and everything it stood for, not to mention he was the nicest guy you’ll ever work for.

He’s a shining example of the creative talent Singapore can produce and how an industry leader should champion local talent. His long, decorated Leo Burnett career that included winning numerous awards for the network makes the way this has all unfolded an absolute outrage and a great disgrace.

Clearly push has come to shove, and it’s obvious who you can point the finger at for that.

Ladies and gents, you can mark Friday as the day the Leo Burnett brand died in Singapore, and it’s a bloody shame. #nametakenoffthedoor

With all these upheavals happening in LB and SS, I can only imagine how unsettled the remaining people at these agencies must be feeling. No amount of “Confidence training” for the women there would make them feel any better. Hur.

Here’s a piece of unsolicited advice for the management team at Publicis: have your ear on the ground and imagine yourself in their shoes for a moment, and STOP having training sessions after training sessions, where the Publcis people come in to teach LB and SS employees on how to do their jobs. It’s condescending and how would you like it if some other agency suddenly tells you how to do your job? Humility goes a long way in this business. And so does karma.

sounds like me mate

Just cause everyones moving one direction, doesn’t mean we need to follow.
Ever occurred to you it might be the wrong direction?

Chris will be missed.
But I believe he is destined for bigger things.

Chris has been the heart and soul of LB for nearly a decade. Brilliant man who brought people along for the journey, no matter your title or role in the agency. LB will not be the same. Pity. Was looking forward to seeing what would come of his return.

Some people are saying that “the most junior Cleo” turned publicis into an award winning agency. Really?? Flooding local award shows and winning small local awards is not really something to shout about right? Name me one Agency who hasn’t won at local shows. We’ve all witnessed their pride at these shows for their (sorry if I sound harsh) mediocre work. It’s something else if publicis won at Cannes or one show or clio, for real work and real clients. Then that’s something to boast about.

LB and Saatchi have more legacy than a one woman show.

In the news a few weeks ago, Maurice Levy announced a complex restructure for Publicis Groupe which would consolidate agencies into 4 hubs in ‘top 20’ and a Publicis One hub in ‘other 80’ markets. A strategy which looks good on a spreadsheet because you can eliminate a lot of the costs involved in managing several different global and regional networks.
We’re now seeing what happens when that gets implemented without taking into account the fact that each agency has some really good senior talent in place, and most agency heads won’t take kindly to reporting to someone who is, at best, a peer. That needs to have been managed much better – perhaps by creating a local board and having each agency head be the Chairman by rotation.
Also what doesn’t help is the perception within the group that people from the Publicis network will have a disproportionate share of the country leadership roles.
I suspect we will see a lot more senior departures from the group, both voluntary and involuntary, over the coming months – it’s hard to imagine how that’s a strategy for growth and success in the long run.

“…where the Publcis people come in to teach LB and SS employees on how to do their jobs…”

REALLY?!!! That is HILARIOUS!

Hahaha heard about that one too, and there was a Confidence Workshop at SS recently for all of the women in LB, SS, Publicis. Where the female staff had to learn from [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines].

I feel really sorry for the people left at SS and LB. It must feel really shitty with all the chaos now.

Ah! corporate re-structuring. This is what spoils the beautiful game of advertising. People who do good work usually suffers from the egos of corporate bigwigs. The is killing the beautiful game. Pity most of the Indies are eaten up by the big Giants.

This is probably the most eye-opening comment thread on Mumbrella this year!

Also, Loris Nold’s comment in the article is such a non-answer. Have some guts and answer the question directly please.

Love or hate LDP. You can’t deny her results and what she has done. The vileness and personal attacks in this comment thread speaks more for you and the industry than it does for her. Either get with the program or just leave. No need to take pot shots from behind the keyboard. In the words of Taylor swift : Haters gonna hate.

Wow you guys on Mumbrella Asia are more bitchy than the Australian Website. I think the fact that people are even talking about Publicis Singapore shows that there’s something different happening there. You all seem a tad nervous about them.

Chris was a true gentleman. This is a loss not for the agency but the industry.

Because once upon a time, a great idea was bigger than a conglomerate, bigger than egos, bigger than alignments, consolidations, and bigger than takeovers.

Chris – keep rocking.

It’s amazing how ‘members’ of this Forum were questioning the choice of Chris Chiu as CEO when he was appointed and are now singing his praises.

I’ve worked with Chris and he is a candid enough guy to [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]. He had a good run and it’s over for now. He is a big boy, likeable in many ways, and will bounce back no doubt.

As for Ms Pena, say what anyone will but you have to hand it to her for getting to where she is with her smarts/cunning/feminine wiles whatever you will. It took d[Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]?

Saatchi as an entity has been dying a slow death since Droga left. LB should just be renamed SK II.

Chris, you will be fine. Lou, milk the moment for what it’s worth and screw the network on our behalf please.

@unnecessary “Love or hate LDP. You can’t deny her results and what she has done.”

Such as? I am not saying you can or you can’t but it would be nice to list them so as to balance a lot of the negative comments on here.

At the end of the day, an ad agency is a business. If you’re not clocking in the bottomline, off you go, no matter how “well loved” you are. There must be something that LDP is doing is right to get.

Common sense – 1 CEO is cheaper than 3. More so when she is female and from Asia.
Agree with @the emperor is naked – milk it, realise everyone has a sell by date and move on. In the meantime, this Publicis show is just so entertaining. I know of several clients already sending feelers out to other agencies. Just a matter of time, tick tock.

The ones this really hurts the most is clients…shame when people can’t manage their egos in relation to the greater good.

This comment thread is disgusting and it says a lot about Mumbrella for heir hatchet job hat has led to such an outpouring of sexism, racism and sheer juvenile hate.

The little boys commenting here have obviously forgotten that results matter in this industry. It’s hypocritical to laud Chris Chiu and his supposed achievements when LB’s downward spiral obviously happened on his watch. Those who can’t keep up need to learn to get out of the way and kee their mouths shut.

The writer of post 7.56 pm seems to be a woman….and possibly deeply connected to this story….hmmm…wonder who that might be :-)))

I seem to remember another ecd who was at the helm when the rot developed…someone who now earns a living selling soap to women.

But dont let the truth get in your way 7.56pm.

LOL.

@7.56pm
Why is it that unfavourable journalism is labelled a hatchet job?
Criticism of women called sexism?
And racism? How so when the key characters are both Asians?

The downward spiral of LB started years ago, not in the last 8 months.

But like Leonardo Burnetti put it, why let truth get in the way?

If the industry wants exceptional women role models, look at Linda Locke. She was a class act who didn’t need spin or defenders in forums.
She earned her place by doing great work, winning business and growing the agency.
Not by chopping heads and trimming costs.

I wonder what implications this has for clients at the two agencies that have now apparently been “taken over” by an outsider.

Can they revisit their contracts and say “I didn’t sign up for this?”

Of course they can.
That’s what client-agency agreements are for.
Especially if there are ‘key people’ and ‘no competitive client’ clauses.

If I were a client at any of the three agencies I’d be concerned and perhaps a little bemused. Seriously, how can you have one CEO from one agency sitting in the same position at two other competing agencies? It’s got conflict of interest written all over it! Not to mention how ridiculously biased it’s going to be when the new CEO gets to pick which agency gets to pitch for what. Publicis will get to pitch for the sexy accounts that can win awards. LB and S&S will fight it out for the scraps.

Good luck defending this structure to the conflict clients (*cough* Scoot *cough* Tiger).

Thoughts go out to the folks at LB and S&S. This all reeks of trouble. Run. Run as fast as you can.

Heard that at least a few clients are keeping their feelers out to get a feel of the other agencies now… and yes, this includes the clients at Publicis. SS and LB clients are the biggest victims of this merger, choosing one agency over the other and ending up getting the same management as everyone else. Where is any agency’s USP left?

Wow, so much vitriol, acid …. on this thread.

Let the games begin.

Another management person got the chop at Saatchi last week. Looks like the exodus is still going on…