Ogilvy promotes Sharon Ooi to chief talent officer of SG and MY

Ogilvy Singapore has promoted Sharon Ooi (pictured) to chief talent officer (CTO), Singapore and Malaysia. Ooi was previously director, talent Singapore and Malaysia at Ogilvy Singapore where she was instrumental in building up the talent function at Ogilvy, bringing strategic value to the business. 

In her new role, Ooi will report to Sue Olivier, chief people officer, Ogilvy Asia Pacific and Kunal Jeswani, CEO of Ogilvy ASEAN. As CTO, Ooi will lead all people-related functions across Ogilvy's offices in Singapore and Malaysia. A strong advocate for positive employee experience, Ooi will also partner closely with business leaders to drive the agency's vibrant culture. 

In addition, she will lead the agency's talent strategy, ensuring its people feel valued and motivated, as well as ensure that Ogilvy Singapore and Malaysia continue to be destinations of choice for exceptional professionals. 

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Ooi brings over two decades of diverse talent management experience to the role, spanning industries including advertising, brand creative design, IT solutions, logistics and freight forwarding. 

Her expertise encompasses the full spectrum of HR functions too, from recruitment, and training and development planning to HR business partnering, employee mobility, policy creation and performance management. 

Ooi's career in advertising began at Leo Burnett in 2011, where she quickly rose to HR director within six years, concurrently serving as the regional HR lead for APAC. In 2016, with the formation of Publicis Communications, her responsibilities expanded to include HR director for Saatchi & Saatchi and Prodigious, in addition to her Leo Burnett portfolio. 

Prior to joining Ogilvy, Ooi led the HR department at Design Bridge Asia in 2018. 

Other roles Ooi has held include HR manager at Astrata Group and HR executive at DHL Supply Chain Singapore and Global Airfreight International. 

“The promotion of Ooi to chief talent officer for Singapore and Malaysia recognises her outstanding leadership, unwavering commitment to our talent team, and her transformative impact on our Ogilvy culture,” said Olivier. 

"Ooi's promotion is a testament to her dedication, and the impact she has had on both our culture as well as our talent strategy. She has an exceptional ability to lead leaders and her passion for building positive, engaging work environments, will spread across everything we do in Singapore and Malaysia," added Jeswani. 

Expressing her gratitude to Olivier and Jeswani for recognising her contributions and for their confidence in her, Ooi said that "exciting times lie ahead, as I look forward to further enhancing the employee experience." 

She added that she will ensure that the Ogilvy workplace "is not only a long-term career destination but also an employer of choice for top talent, where our people can thrive and become our strongest advocates to grow with us." 

Ooi is not the only new person in the agency to have received a promotion. Earlier in February this year, Ogilvy promoted Jeswani to the role of CEO of Ogilvy ASEAN. His appointment comes in a bid to grow its presence across the ASEAN region and for continued growth and creative impact. 

Prior to his role across Singapore and Malaysia, Jeswani was CEO of Ogilvy India.

Jeswani's elevation to ASEAN CEO is part of Ogilvy APAC’s focus on growth in this important sub-region. In his new role, he will focus on integrating resources across the ASEAN region, leveraging the unique strengths of each market to drive solutions for clients. 

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