Ogilvy hunts down ECD of Black Pencil fame for Shanghai office

Francis Wee (pictured) is the new executive creative director of O&M Advertising in Shanghai. Wee, who had been working with Ogilvy on a freelance basis since November 2011, now officially replaces Kevin Lee, who left the agency middle of last year.

Graham Fink, chief creative officer of Ogilvy & Mather China, had been scouring worldwide since August 2011 for someone "strong and inspiring" to help him oversee all accounts in the mainland, he said. On his Twitter account, Fink writes about "great creative talent being thin on the ground out here [in China]".

“Francis has been well worth the wait. Not only does he have a big reputation and a CV weighted down with awards - including the rarest gem of all, the D&AD Black Pencil - but he’s also amazingly passionate and great at motivating creative teams. He’s definitely no one-hit wonder and he’s someone who’s consistently got fantastic ideas," Fink says.

Fink adds he got on "brilliantly" with Wee during his freelancing period, which was meant as a trial for both parties in working creatively together.

In his new leadership role, Wee will be looking for ways to grow the businesses of clients such as Lee, Fanta, Tourism Victoria, and The North Face. He will also be partnering with Fink to attract more of "the best and the hungriest" talent from around the globe.

A Singaporean Chinese, fluent in English and Mandarin, Wee has nearly three decades of advertising experience in Asia. Since launching his career as a junior art director at McCann-Erickson Singapore in 1983, Wee won numerous regional and international awards at the Cannes Lions, Clios, One Show and D&AD awards.

Wee also founded independent boutique agency Religion in 2007 - his last project before joining Ogilvy Shanghai on 4 January this year.

“China is the most happening place on earth; Ogilvy is the biggest agency in town. Having all the big guns like Graham in one place makes this the place to be," he said. "There are tremendous opportunities for creatives like me to have fun at work, think like a kid, and take clients on new adventures."

At the same time, Ogilvy Shanghai has also named Martin Murphy in the newly-created role of managing director of global brand management. Raised in seven countries and fluent in English, Spanish, French and Portuguese, Murphy specialises in multinational accounts and has hands-on experience in cross-regional brand building at Draftfcb Chicago and Ogilvy Miami.