Ogilvy Worldwide creative chief fired after internal investigation

Ogilvy has parted ways with worldwide co-chairman and chief creative officer Tham Khai Meng, following "complaints regarding [his] behavior," according to an internal memo from the WPP agency.

The note, sent to staff Wednesday by Worldwide Chief Executive John Seifert on Wednesday, said that Seifert was informed of "employee complaints regarding the behavior of Tham Khai Meng" two weeks ago.

"I found these complaints serious enough to appoint external legal counsel to investigate the matter," the note stated. "After carefully reviewing the investigation’s findings with several of my partners, we concluded that Khai’s behavior was a clear breach of our company values and code of conduct. I have decided to terminate Khai’s employment with the company with immediate effect."

Ogilvy declined to comment beyond the memo. Meng was not immediately available for comment.

"Each year, we ask every employee in the company to read, authorize, and fully commit to a code of conduct that each of us is responsible for living up to. Over the past 70 years, we have institutionalized shared values and a standard of professional behavior unique to the Ogilvy brand," said Seifert in the email. "This is an important moment to reaffirm that no individual in this company is too senior or too important not to be held accountable for their actions."

Last month, Campaign reported  that Meng pledged to hire 20 senior creative women globally by the end of 2020 and promised a new pipeline of senior women of color across the next two years. Ogilvy also unveiled a new corporate identity in June that simplified its organizational structure.