Shannon Cullum has been named CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi Indonesia and Chief Growth Officer for Saatchi & Saatchi Asia-Pacific effective 1 February 2014. He replaces Dini Makmun who will step away from the operations of the agency to focus on her role as Chairwoman and advisory to the CEO.
Shannon, previously CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi Russia since July 2008, will oversee the Saatchi & Saatchi agency in Jakarta and manage the growth of new business interests in the region under the leadership of Chris Foster, Chairman and Regional CEO, Saatchi & Saatchi Asia-Pacific.
“We’re excited to have Shannon join Saatchi & Saatchi Indonesia and our Regional Network at this stage in our journey. His record of success, combined with passion for new ideas and understanding of our unique market, will see him make an invaluable contribution to our agency and the development of our client relationships in Asia-Pacific,” said Chris Foster.
“Dini has made a fantastic contribution to the development of Saatchi & Saatchi Indonesia over the years, and with the added leadership of Shannon we can look forward to the growth of the Saatchi & Saatchi brand, our people and clients in Indonesia.”
Prior to Russia, Shannon spent 5 years with Saatchi & Saatchi in Asia managing account operations regionally for the Procter & Gamble laundry and Danone food and beverage businesses in China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.
"I'm thrilled to be back in Asia. It's still the most exciting and dynamic region in our business, with the greatest potential to transform the industry as a whole. It's evolved substantially these past five years, but I believe it's only the beginning; especially in a place like Indonesia, which is clearly growing in importance for the region," said Shannon.
“Shannon’s previous experience in Indonesia in regional capacity handling iconic brands such as Aqua, Biskuat, Milkuat and Mizone has lent him great insights to the local market. His success in Russia is valuable for us and I couldn’t be more excited for Saatchi & Saatchi Indonesia,” said Dini Makmun.
During Shannon's tenure in Moscow, Saatchi & Saatchi Russia more than doubled in size while moving from a traditional ATL agency to a fully integrated offering with strong capabilities in digital, branding and design, events and activation, and in-house video production. The agency's campaign for Schusev State Museum of Architecture won more than 60 awards worldwide in 2013.