Deric Wong joins dentsu China as CEO

Omnicom Media Group (OMG) Hong Kong CEO Deric Wong (pictured left) is leaving the company and will join dentsu China as CEO.

Effective 1 April, Wong will be responsible for continuing dentsu's transformation programme, including driving integration, strengthening its go-to-market capabilities and building a culture of inspiration and radical collaboration.

"I'm absolutely delighted and honoured to lead dentsu China at such a dynamic and exciting time and I’m eager to work with the many talented and hardworking individuals across the network. dentsu has a long legacy of leading transformation and driving innovation and I look forward to building on and continuing the dynamic growth story for this important market," said Wong.

Wong has held senior leadership roles at both creative and media agencies across the Greater China region since 2007. During that time, he has built a reputation for delivering commercial growth, driving an award winning work and building world leading integrated agency capabilities.

He will be strengthening the foundation of dentsu China's position built by Michelle Lau (pictured right), who was appointed CEO in 2019 and has implemented an aggressive agenda of transformation, restoring the competitive edge and a market-leading position for integrated solutions over the years.

Lau's departure was due to the desire to be closer to her family in Hong Kong. She will remain in her role until the end of March.

Under her leadership, the China business has undergone "a rapid transformation focused on pioneering a simplified structure, restoring a winning mentality, and regaining its place as a leader in the market." The new structure delivers greater agility and flexibility for clients through a more focused portfolio of brands across three core service lines of creative, media and customer experience management.

"The decision to leave and return home was not easy, and I'm proud of everything we have achieved in the past two years. I am supremely confident in Wong. We have identified the best candidate to drive our business forward," said Lau.

Wong will report to Cheuk Chiang, CEO of Dentsu Asia Pacific's Greater North region. He commented on Wong's onboarding, "Wong is a brilliant strategist and visionary leader who has a strong track-record of unlocking transformative growth for clients through delivering progressive integrated solutions. He genuinely cares about building great talent, driving integration and this, coupled with a future focused mindset, equips him well to lead dentsu China into a new era of growth."

"I would also like to take the opportunity to thank Lau and celebrate what she has brought to the business. She has set a clear strategy, navigated the team through a pandemic, built transformative client-centric capabilities, returned the business to growth and driven new business momentum," he added.

Wong joins dentsu from Omnicom Media Group, Hong Kong, where he has held the role of Chief Executive Officer since 2018.

Speaking of Wong's departure, Tony Harradine, CEO of OMG APAC, commented, "We’re grateful to Wong for his contributions to OMG Hong Kong over the last 13 years. During his tenure, he has established OMG Hong Kong as a formidable network and we wish him all the best in his next chapter."

Related articles

Dentsu Hong Kong promotes Simone Tam to CEO

dentsu mulls sale of Tokyo headquarters