Initiative hires former Wavemaker exec as China CEO

Initiative has appointed Karen Ho, previously chief growth officer at Wavemaker China, as China CEO. She will report to Chris Chen, CEO of Mediabrands China, as well as Initiative's regional management.

The role is newly created. China MD Richard Zhang departed the business in December. Ho's appointment is effective January 18.

Ho spent a decade at MEC and then Wavemaker up until last summer. After that she was chief operating officer of The Snow Hub, which represents skiing and snowboarding talents for sponsorship, according to her LinkedIn profile. Prior to Wavemaker she was with OMD. She was named a member of Campaign Asia-Pacific's 40 Under 40 list in 2013, when she was with MEC. 

"[Ho's] growth mindset and in-depth market insights, coupled with her passion and eagerness to win, are a great fit with Initiative’s culture and well placed to continue the agency’s growing momentum in China,” Chen said in a release. Leigh Terry, CEO of Mediabrands APAC and president of Initiative Asia Pacific, added that Ho has in-depth knowledge of the most dynamic market in the world and a passion for building culture, combined with a hunger for growth.