Michelle Ong appointed as McCann Indonesia's MD, Somyot Chairat departs

Ong was previously the general manager of McCann Malaysia. A press statement from the agency said that Ong will be taking over the role from 1 June.

Ong’s promotion is in recognition of her outstanding leadership and contributions over the last seven years at McCann Worldgroup.

Ong joined McCann in Malaysia in August 2002 and has been elevated through a variety of senior roles in the agency. In her current role as general manager, Ong has been leading the development of integrated marketing communication solutions for the agency’s clients on a day to day basis.

Michael McLaren, regional director of McCann Worldgroup Asia Pacific, said: "There is nothing better than giving one of the rising stars in our network the opportunity to take the next step in their career and become the head of one of our important agencies."

McLaren called Indonesia an exciting and vital market for the agency. Ong will take a key role in further building the McCann Worldgroup structure in Indonesia, growing its integrated market offering and nurturing strong client relationships. McLaren also thanked Chairat for his contributions in Indonesia.

Chairat, who will be moving back to his home country of Thailand, will leave McCann Worldgroup. A spokesperson for the agency said that following discussions as to possible moves within the company, Chairat elected to pursue other interests.

Chairat took over the position of country head in Indonesia during April 2008 as part of a restructure that saw the departure of Jan Gerits, who left the agency to return to the Netherlands.

Chairat's relocation to Indonesia was considered unusual at that point. Prior to taking on the Indonesia role, Chairat was heading Universal McCann as MD in Thailand. He was also managing partner of Retail Momentum as well as chief integration officer of the Worldgroup structure.