Dragon Rouge names new regional ECD

Global brand agency Dragon Rouge Singapore has appointed Gökçe Şahbaz (pictured) as its new executive creative director for the Southeast Asia market.

Şahbaz joins Dragon Rouge from Holmes&Marchant / Elmwood where he was creative director for the region. He has also held senior creative roles at Path, Design Bridge, Publicis, Grey and Leo Burnett. The role was helmed by James Bebbington who has relocated back to the UK with his family, confirmed Dragon Rouge in a statement to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE.

Şahbaz reports to Zayn Khan, CEO Asia. Khan explained that Şahbaz’s integrated background makes him a “perfect fit for the business in Asia”. His deep expertise in corporate identity and packaging design holistic thinking in brand experience and communications will lead the charge of expanding the corporation’s capabilities, said Khan.

Some of Dragon Rouge Singapore clients include PETRONAS, Digital Nasional Berhad, Edotco, CIMB, OCBC, VISA, IKANO, Abbott, Nestlé, Carlsberg, Mondelez and others.

“As an agency we are working with clients to not only define their brands but to create consumer engagements in the real world, be that digital or physical. Gökçe will lead the charge of expanding our creative capabilities to make us a more relevant long-term brand partner to clients,” added Khan.

“I was attracted to Dragon Rouge by its strong culture and drive to do work that stands out and delivers concretely for brands. Being a Dragon is about leadership, passion and boldness, and the company’s French roots bring a refined dimension to the work. These traits, along with the company’s leadership and independent spirit, made the proposition irresistible to me” explained Şahbaz.

The new addition to the team comes as global changes are underway in the company. In May this year, MARKETING-INTERACTIVE reported the news of Dragon Rouge undergoing a management buyout with founders Pierre Cazaux and Patrick Veyssiere ceding full control of the agency's strategy to the current leadership team.

Renaud Deschamps, group CEO, Dragon Rouge explained to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that the management buyout came because the initial founders wanted to ensure that the Dragon Rouge brand would remain and that the management team would stay in control of the business in order to perpetuate the quality of service to its loyal base of clients.

The agency has a presence in Singapore, Shanghai, Warsaw, Hamburg, London, New York, Paris, and Sao Paulo. 

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