Ogilvy Malaysia names Michelle Ong executive group director

Ogilvy Malaysia has brought on board Michelle Ong as executive group director reporting to CEO Nizwani Shahar. Ong (pictured) has been tasked with driving the agency’s borderless creativity strategy, approach, and opportunities across key clients as well as elevating the diversity and business leadership capabilities across existing and potential clients.

While she will mainly focus on account management, Ong's general management experience will be critical in driving the agency's goals. Her role will also entail streamlining the agency's internal processes, managing key department operations, and providing guidance and leadership to agency staff members. She joins the agency's management team and will work closely with chief creative officer Adrian Miller, strategy director Paul Gage, senior programme director Edmund Quah, and the Ogilvy leadership team.

Ong has 30 years of experience in building a diverse range of brands strategically and creatively. She was previously CEO of Dentsu One Malaysia and prior to that COO of Leo Burnett Malaysia. She was also MD at McCann Worldgroup Indonesia for a year and GM of McCann Erickson Malaysia for close to eight years. Before that, she was also an account manager at Ogilvy for three years, her LinkedIn said. After leaving dentsu, Ong became a marcomms consultant for Bake With Yen Malaysia and Pavilion Kuala Lumpur.

Among the list of brands she has managed over the course of her career include Coca-Cola, Nestle, McDonald's, Philip Morris, Dutch Lady, Samsung, and P&G. Ong said Ogilvy Malaysia was her jumping off point in this industry and after a great adventure, she is so glad to return home where it all started.

"Ogilvy is a strong network agency which has not only great brands, but also powerful, passionate people that drive creativity with the goal of inspiring brands and people for the better. I look forward to working with Nizwani and the leadership team to scale greater heights together," Ong added.

Meanwhile, Nizwani said Ong is someone she deeply admires and respects. With her experience, drive and proven leadership qualities, Ong brings not only vision and skill but also her wealth of experience in business leadership as well as general management.

"This is another huge step forward for Ogilvy Malaysia as we move from strength to strength, improving our talent density across all levels and departments, and creating a diverse makeup of senior leadership to chart the path of growth. I am thrilled to have Ong back in the family and greatly look forward to working alongside her again," Nizwani added.

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