Lee has moved to Hong Kong, but his next move is unknown.
Lee set up TBWA Hakuhodo China, a 50-50 JV agency to manage the Nissan account, back in 2005, and led teams in Guangzhou and Beijing. Prior to that, he served as managing director for TBWA's Beijing office.
TBWA Hakuhodo was, and remains, completely separate from TBWA and Hakuhodo offices that already exist in China. The company will now be run by ex-CCO Derick Ho, who takes over Lee's position as CEO.
In a farewell note obtained by Campaign Asia-Pacific, Lee said: "I have always been grateful that I had the opportunity to live and work in China during that particularly [sic] period of time when a dramatic change was taking place. As I remember the winter of 2001, when I first arrived in Beijing, it was impossible to imagine the extent and speed of change that had happened to the country."
Campaign has reached out to TBWA for more comment.
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