Jeff Ma appointed as chief marketing officer for TBWA Greater China

Ma (pictured) will take charge of business development, public relations and marketing, government relations, and strategic growth initiatives for TBWA Greater China.

A Shanghai native, Ma began his career in 1995. According to his LinkedIn profile, he co-founded M&C Saatchi in China and was its first general manager. He then spent five years running brand activation and shopper marketing agency Ogilvy Action.

Ian Thubron, group president of TBWA Greater China, commented, “Jeff is a catalyst for growth. I want to harness Jeff’s skills to drive (our) growth agenda nationally as we strive to become an iconic creative company in China.”

Ma commented, “TBWA’s culture of striving to be iconic in all senses gels completely with me. This is an opportunity to demonstrate what a new breed of agency in China can achieve.”

Ma's CMO role is a rarity in the advertising industry, especially in China, but follows in the footsteps of Laurie Coots, who is global CMO of TBWA Worldwide. Coot's role came as client-agency relationships were tested during the economic slowdown and as agencies struggle to manage their own brands.