Ogilvy China Announces Senior Changes to Shanghai and Beijing Creative Teams

Ogilvy & Mather China (Ogilvy) has announced the appointment of Thomas Zhu and Juggi Ramakrishnan as executive creative directors at Ogilvy Shanghai. Working together, both Thomas and Juggi will form a strong and dynamic leadership team under Graham Fink, chief creative officer, Ogilvy & Mather China. Meanwhile, Chong Kin joins Ogilvy Beijing as executive creative director.

Moving up from the position of group creative director, Zhu will both broaden and deepen Ogilvy’s creative capabilities in the social and digital space. With more than 15 years of industry experience, he is not only one of the top Chinese writers in the market, but is one of the few local Chinese professionals in the industry to hold such a senior position. He has unrivalled knowledge of Chinese culture, as well as a large following on Weibo. His new role is effective immediately.

Commenting on his promotion, Zhu said, “I’m looking forward to taking the creative team to the next level, particularly in the digital advertising space which is growing rapidly in China. I’ll be using my energy and creative spirit to develop more cutting-edge, culturally-relevant campaigns that will make clients stand out from the crowd and also connect better with today’s consumers.”

Ramakrishnan moves from Ogilvy Beijing and his role as executive creative director, where he has been responsible for taking the team and creative work to new heights over the past two years. He brings with him a wealth of experience in both the creative industry and Asia Pacific, having worked in India and Singapore, before moving to Beijing. He has a proven track record in creating world-class work, highlighted by the “Visit Britain” campaign, which is a frontrunner at Cannes 2015. Ramakrishnan will take up his new role in June.

Looking ahead of his move, Ramakrishnan said, “The advertising landscape in China is changing quickly and unpredictably. But it's clear that consumers, marketers and the creative community are all gaining confidence day by day. My experience in Beijing taught me that to produce effective work you need to understand the comfort zones of your clients and colleagues, and to play to their strengths. This approach will be key to making us bigger and better at what we do in Shanghai.”

Ogilvy Beijing has also announced that Chong Kin has joined as executive creative director. Replacing Ramakrishnan, he brings passion, energy and a deep understanding of Chinese culture. Moving from Leo Burnett, Chong Kin has over 20 years’ experience in the industry, having worked on accounts across the FMCG, luxury and telecoms sectors. In his role, he will work closely with Doug Schiff, national executive creative director at OgilvyOne China, to develop more integrated, creative campaigns. Chong Kin will add to the dynamic new team structure under Graham Fink. 

Commenting on the changes, Graham Fink, chief creative officer, Ogilvy & Mather China (pictured), said, “As China increasingly becomes a global creative hub, we need to be able to produce work that is internationally recognised, as well as create highly insightful and compelling campaigns for the China market. The new ECD roles in our Shanghai office will combine the individual strengths of these two leading creative talents. In Beijing, Chong Kin will be instrumental in strengthening the offer in our largest office in China even further.”

He added: “These exciting appointments also underline our continued commitment to nurturing and promoting local talent. I’m looking forward to working closely with them all enormously.”