Publicis SG ECDs Fajar Kurnia and Jeremy Chia to depart agency

Publicis Singapore's ECDs Fajar Kurnia (pictured left) and Jeremy Chia (pictured right) will be leaving the agency next month. Both Kurnia and Chia joined the agency in 2017, succeeding former ECDs Jon Loke and Troy Lim. According to a Publicis spokesperson, there will be no direct replacements for Kurnia and Chia, as the duo's duties have been distributed among the creative team.Prior to the appointment, the creative duo were regional creative directors at Saatchi & Saatchi Singapore, and have been partners for almost a decade. During their tenure in Saatchi & Saatchi Singapore, both Kurnia and Chia oversaw creative work on brands such as Agoda, FWD Insurance and P&G Head & Shoulders across ASEAN and Greater China. Other previous and current accounts include Yahoo!, DBS, Singtel, Direct Asia Insurance, the Heath Promotion Board, various Unilever brands, Heineken and Mercedes Benz.A Publicis spokesperson told Marketing that Kurnia and Chia will be exploring new opportunities. "Under their leadership, we’ve grown rapidly, in no small part due to their hard work and passion for the business. We thank them for all their efforts and wish them the best in their new roles," she said. The spokesperson added:We are still hiring massively, so the key for us is upgrade and investment.Meanwhile, two creative directors at Publicis, Ho Pei Ling and Goh Jia Ying, also left the agency in March and June to join Google and Netflix respectively. During their time with the agency, both Ho and Goh worked on the Health Promotion Board, AXA and Citibank accounts. Publicis Singapore also hired former TBWA\\ global creative director Jennie Morris as chief creative officer earlier this month. This came shortly after Ng Tian It joined the agency as a dedicated ECD for the Health Promotion Board Singapore account.The spokesperson added that 2019 was a year of growth for Publicis Communications, as the agency bagged 39 new account wins this year. According to the spokesperson, between January and July 2019, the agency has brought onboard 31 new talents across strategy, creative, account servicing and other departments. "This was to transform and upgrade our team to meet the changing needs of clients. In this time of change, we bid farewell to some and welcomed the new," she said.