McCann Worldgroup China CEO Emily Chang exits

Emily Chang, CEO of McCann Worldgroup in China, will leave her role later this year. 

In a statement to Campaign Asia-Pacific, the agency network confirmed that "due to her need to relocate overseas for personal family reasons", Chang "feels it is time to stay closer to home."  

According to the statement, Chang has been based in the US for some time while “overseeing China operations from afar, in between visits to Shanghai”. As it’s not sustainable in the long-term, McCann Worldgroup stated that they have been mutually discussing a transition plan.

McCann Worldgroup did not name a successor at the moment but emphasised it has a strong management team led by Chang in China. The agency network also thanked Emily "for her many contributions to the network and wishes her all the best in her future endeavours.”

Chang has worked in China for 13 years. She joined McCann China in 2020. Before starting her agency career, Chang worked for the brand's side. She was CMO of Starbucks China from 2017 to 2019. She also served as chief commercial officer of InterContinental Hotels Group and Apple’s head of retailing marketing in Asia. She also worked at P&G for over 11 years.

In a statement shared with Campaign, Chang said she is “so proud of these three years” at McCann. "We have crafted a high-performing leadership team who have step-changed our product and partnership approach," she said, adding she was "honoured to partner with an amazing portfolio of market-leading clients; I am deeply grateful for their trust.”

Chang was recognised as a Women to Watch Greater China in 2022 and led McCann Worldgroup China to win the Best Places to Work Asia-Pacific award for Best Learning and Development in the same year.