Brandon Cheung promoted to CEO of McCann Worldgroup Hong Kong
Brandon Cheung has been promoted to become CEO of McCann Worldgroup in Hong Kong.
He joined McCann in 2013 as digital strategy director. Cheung was closely involved with the Cathay Pacific account as global managing partner.
After the business moved out of the agency to Publicis and VCCP, he was most recently managing director of health insurance firm Cigna’s international markets business.
He has previously been with agencies like Tribal DDB and Isobar. His remit extends to driving collaboration and growth between McCann, MRM//McCann and McCann Health in Hong Kong, as well as other McCann Worldgroup agency disciplines elsewhere in the world.
Speaking about the promotion, Cheung said: “I’m honored to lead our network operations in Hong Kong.
“I have tremendous respect and admiration for our agencies and their market-leading expertise, having seen first-hand the impact we can deliver for our clients when our network swarms around a brand.
“Our clients are under pressure to allocate their marketing dollars against an incredibly complex marketing ecosystem, and they look to us to drive creativity and effectiveness across every aspect of the ecosystem.”
McCann Worldgroup Asia Pacific president Charles Cadell added: “I’d like to congratulate Brandon on his promotion – he represents the very best of McCann Worldgroup and is highly respected by clients and colleagues alike. His appointment enables us to leverage all our agencies in Hong Kong to better serve our clients.”
There have also been other recent promotions and appointments at the agency. Among those promoted are Florence Kong as managing director of McCann Hong Kong and Connie Lo as president of Greater China McCann Health. The new appointments include Jonathan Liu as managing director of MRM//McCann Hong Kong and Sam Wong as general manager of McCann Health Hong Kong.
The agency will also be moving offices from Causeway Bay to a new building housing all IPG Hong Kong agencies in Taikoo Place.
Nice press release.
Wasn’t he though in charge of the CX team?
The CX team that got fired by the client?
Interesting times for McCann.
ReplyHi M, yes Brandon did lead the Cathay CX team and we are all very proud of the work he and his team did for the brand. Personally, I think it is great that we recognise and reward our talent rather than just penalise them for client and industry pressures they have no control over. Brandon is one of the best people we have in the network and I am really excited to see what he does in this role.
ReplyM, maybe you should recommend someone who has an impeccable 100% record of retaining and winning clients… we all might want to hire such legend
ReplyMNO the point is losing the huge retainer client, letting the whole team go and not winning any new business, doesn’t exactly sound like achievement that deserves promotion.
ReplyYou guys need better PR lol
Everyone loses clients. Absolutely.
Not everyone oversees the loss of 25 year relationship. The biggest, most important client the HK office had. By a huge, huge margin.
I don’t know Brandon. Maybe he is a great guy. But is he the guy to revive McCann in HK?
The fact McCann is leaving Hysan and going back to Taikoo is also very telling.
ReplyThat’s why people at learn by example and not motivated to Keep clients anymore since it’s not about meritocracy but how you please the bosses? Interesting M comment..
ReplyThe best MD I’ve ever had the privilege to work for, a well deserved promotion. I see only good things for Brandon on the horizon.
ReplyMaybe if he’s fired, there will be enough budget to keep all 50 of us. Well who says the world is fair?
ReplyWhy the [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] get to stay and the Hong Kong people get fired? Is this embracing diversity?
ReplyThey do keep a few creative people but they are all expats…interesting decision because they are pretty shitty creatives too.
ReplyAs a freelancer I don’t want to work with them again.
ReplyCongrats! He’s the best! Such a great honor to be able to work with him! I love this guy! You rock!
ReplyWow great news! I’m so proud to be part of the mccann family! I love my job! I love my boss!
ReplyAwesome news! Great guy! Looking handsome in the photo! I wish I could work with him forever, I believe he will lead mccann to a better place. I love Mccann. It’s the best agency full of wonderful people. I don’t mind pleasing good boss like him!
ReplyIs [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] doing community management now? Becoming Proud McCanner, DJ and Mr Jack all at the same time? Only he love himself best
ReplyNo wonder people are leaving and hating 4A
Treat the working level like trash
Spend all the money on big boss
So they can buy new car, live in big house and drinking champagne
Upper level people are getting fat and partying
The lower level do all the works just keep eat shit
What a good culture
ReplyWish all the management level people earning more money and go on party in their own small circle [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] each other off
With a company [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] like him with [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] track record, highly [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]. How to lose an 18yr old relationship baffles all. Let’s watch the news getting more and more interesting
ReplyHe has never ever [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]!
ReplyThe more I read and here about this, the more sense his appointment makes.
Loss of big clients. Reputation damaged (and remember McCann was by far the most reputable agency in HK – not a high bar these days, but still). Let go a lot of staff. Leaving flashy HQ to sit back with IPG’s media and PR agencies.
Looking at it from that angle, you could argue that the best and only option is to look inward. Would be very difficult to find and bring in a visionary leader who connects with HK clients and is willing to hedge his or her career on this agency. So take an insider and try to reset. Low risk option.
Best of luck to Brandon. I was speaking to some of his former Tribal colleagues and they say he is a good guy. He has gone from a digital director to CX central team lead (which in itself caused a lot of raised eyebrows) and now McCann CEO. That’s some trajectory.
ReplyOh I just gave jobs to McCann because of the local strong leadership. Now its under [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] foreigners, I will have to take my Brand’s and leave.
ReplyClient, I understand but please keep in mind there are lots [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] who love HK and HK clients. We’re not all here just for a couple of years and make some money. Some of us really love this place and working here (see my comment about this appointmet).
ReplyHK client don’t need [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] who don’t understand a thing and esp those [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] lost a big pitch.
ReplyA joke if we still trust them.
Oh yeah because the industry in HK is so good and creative you don’t need anyone. Show me the last piece of good creative work coming from HK. We claim we don’t want foreigners but we’re so small and so parochial that without a different point of view we’d just always do the same thing. I agree foreigners should not necessarily be bosses but having some of them is good for the industry.
ReplyYou must be [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] so you don’t know some local good works done by local people and for local people. I don’t remember any good piece of work from [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] here also. Most [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] working here are just because of networking. Not about their capability. This is a well-known fact among the industry.
ReplyMcCann lost the CX pitch is a good example when you let [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] lead a pitch they lost LOL facts are facts. Let go of the local people and keeping the [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] here, biggest joke ever. We all know how “good” they are.
I’m not a foreigner if that’s what you wrote and mumbrella edited out. I lived and worked abroad and still have many friends in the hk industry and they all complain how bad the situation is and how frustrated they are. This doesn’t mean HK creatives are bad. But HK clients don’t let agencies do great creative work that’s a fact. And saying it is not like that just sounds like a delusional attempt to defend something that can’t honestly be defended.
ReplyFully agree
HK is a wasteland for creativity. Agencies get by churning out generic and commoditised services for risk averse clients. I remember meeting one 4a agency that practically existed on posters and collaterals for property clients. Each one the same as the previous.
Even the scam is terrible, which for me signals a demoralised and unmotivated workforce. When you can’t even be arsed putting a bit of creativity into a scam piece, you know you need a career change.
On a slightly more positive note, the recent Rugby 7s work for CX was pretty decent. Highlighting again just how bad [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] has gotten with this client, producing the same ‘ female air steward running down a hk street throwing a rugby ball’ ads every year.
ReplyHis new position as CEO is too soon after what happened to CX team. Don’t blame the ex-cx team to feel this decision was unfair. Really wish Brandon would have [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] the colleagues who have just lost their jobs… while he can still continue to work there.
ReplyB is not a suit, nor is he a planner, he is more of a [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]. Why would [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] be given this job? I guess only the one who give him knows. Or [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] if the global management knows the mess.
ReplyBrandon is a nice guy, but three things from a pure business perspective:
Reply1. If you as MD are leading the biggest account, and it gets lost on your watch, you are responsible for it, period.
2. The agency raising him to CEO doesn’t send a great message to other prospective clients who, I suppose, have access to Google and can see what happened on his watch.
3. Letting go local people and retain [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] is purely unfair. And I say this as a [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]. Especially when these [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] have not performed (the CX loss, again…). But this, I guess, it’s a classic case of [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines].
Honestly when [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] with a big mess, it was the two local MD who bite the bullet with such fast digital transformation to put company back in shape. What [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] was to inherit accounts and lose them. Maybe time to go, sad to see McCann like that la…
ReplyThe invisible ceiling for local/women to join their big boy club
ReplyMccann, u let down a lot of people
Bad move
Bad PR mccann
ReplyHow annoying are these mumbrella edits.
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