Wunderman Thompson merges APAC and EMEA leadership under Ewen Sturgeon

After Campaign broke news of Annette Male's imminent depature from Wunderman Thompson, the agency has revealed it is eliminating its APAC and EMEA regional leadership positions in favour of one CEO of International.

Ewen Sturgeon, the current CEO of EMEA, takes up the new role with immediate effect. Sturgeon has been leading the EMEA region since May 2019, and now takes on additional oversight of APAC, which comprises 27 offices in 17 countries.

It is not the first time Sturgeon has had oversight of two regions—prior to joining Wunderman Thompson he was chief operating officer of Publicis.Sapient for EMEA and APAC. Before that, he was International CEO of Digitas for four years, where he was closely involved in launching and growing the agency’s business across EMEA and APAC.

Wunderman Thompson said its EMEA and APAC regions will remain structurally and operationally separate, with leaders for each business unit reporting directly into Sturgeon.

Sturgeon said in a statement: "I’m excited about the scope of this new role, which will allow me to partner with our many talented leaders across APAC to create flexible and empathetic solutions that will continue adding value to our clients in the region."

APAC CEO Male is departing the agency after two and a half years to lead Facebook's agency development team in APAC, which she will begin in October.

Global CEO Mel Edwards commented on Male's imminent departure: "I’d like to thank Annette for the huge impact she’s had on Wunderman Thompson’s business, culture and clients. Annette leaves Wunderman Thompson APAC better than she found it and we wish her the very best of luck in her next challenge."