Y&R Asia president Matthew Godfrey to exit after 7 years with the agency

Matthew Godfrey (pictured) is leaving Y&R Asia after spending seven years leading the team. Godfrey, who is the Asia president for the agency, is said to be leaving to start a new venture, but will remain with the agency until October this year.Y&R has confirmed the move to Marketing. His successor is yet to be named. In the meantime, Y&R Asia chief financial officer, Marc Sigle will step up his involvement in the operational activities.Godfrey has built his 21-year career in the industry entirely in the Asia Pacific region. As president of Y&R Asia, he oversaw in the region the operations of Y&R Advertising, VML and LabStore, which total 38 offices in 13 countries.Godfrey is known as a change agent with a proven track record of driving innovation, digital and creativity. He forges deep relationships with client and has helped companies build their brands in numerous markets, as well as developed highly awarded and successful global campaigns. Prior to the role, he was also CEO of Publicis Asia from 2006 to 2010 and CEO of Bates in 2005.Y&R has seen a fair bit of change in guard in the Asia front. In Singapore, the agency recently appointed Shirley Tay as CEO to replace Melvin Kuek who was in the role for over four years. It is currently undergoing a restructure in its organisation. This saw the exit of client services director Kea Sui Hong and regional creative director Bruce Watt, both of whom have been with the company since 2007.