Starcom MediaVest’s Mike Amour to exit Publicis Media

SINGAPORE - Mike Amour, the APAC president of Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG), will be leaving Publicis Media, the company has confirmed.

In a statement issued after queries from Campaign Asia-Pacific, Publicis Media APAC CEO Gerry Boyle said Amour made a “significant contribution” to Starcom MediaVest’s business in APAC over the past 18 months, “including helping win new global assignments as well as delivering solid revenue growth and profits in the region.”

The industry veteran’s exit is perhaps not surprising, given the conspicuous absence of his name in the slew of announcements from Publicis in the months following its global restructuring exercise—which saw the rebrand of SMG to Starcom.

Amour was not mentioned in the APAC leadership roll call when Boyle announced it back in April. From the pre-existing regional leadership ranks, Gareth Mulryan and Bertilla Teo were appointed Singapore CEO and Greater China CEO, respectively.

Amour's exit follows a string of senior executives leaving the agency network this year, such as APAC Vivaki MD Grace Liau, SMG’s CEO of Southeast Asia Jeffery Seah, and most recently Ranga Somanathan, COO of Southeast Asia and head of global network clients for SMG.

“We wish Mike [Amour] the very best with his next chapter,” Boyle added.

In the same statement, Amour said that his crossover to the media side of the business has been invaluable.

“It has given me a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing clients, as well as the broader industry,” he said. “I wish Gerry [Boyle] and the team at Publicis Media well with the new organisation.”

It is understood that Amour plans to take a break over the coming months in order to spend more time with his family.

He joined the French media agency network in January 2015, as SMG was restructuring and moving away from a cluster model that grouped countries by ‘market dynamics’ back to a more traditional APAC, EMEA, LATAM, North America and North Asia grouping. He previously served as the APAC CEO of Project: WorldWide.