Ogilvy Malaysia and J. Walter Thompson (JWT) Malaysia are combining resources under a single leadership team, while having separate P&Ls.
SaurabhSaksena will lead the new entity under the philosophy of one company, two brands. Prior to taking on the MD of JWT role, Saksena was JWT Delhi’s Senior Vice President and Chief Growth Officer based in Gurgaon. He also worked in Ogilvy India as account director.
In a statement, spokesperson said this is in a move to unite the best of Malaysia’s marketing talents. The combined offerings include e-commerce, content, PR, data, mar tech, digital and shopper marketing. The integration has been in the works for over 12 months and no staff cuts are expected.
“This is very much a story about addition versus subtraction when it comes to the benefits of both brands and respective client bases. Both agencies will maintain their existing J. Walter Thompson and Ogilvy and brands, while accessing the benefits of a shared specialist team, which creates a stronger service proposition for clients,” said the spokesperson.
He added that given both brands will still remain, and will simply be led by one leadership team, there will be “no client conflicts”.
Currently heading up the Ogilvy team is David Mayo, who joined last year as CEO and country head.
“Mayo has been with the Ogilvy family for more than 20 years and has very much been a part of our success over that time in the region. We respect that this information on his next move is his to share, and obviously wish him all the best with his future endeavours,” the statement added.
Mayo was last the CMO of Ogilvy Asia Pacific and was based out of Singapore.
Prior to this, he was the CEO of Bates CHI & Partners for more than four years. He has also been the business development director at Bates Asia in the past.
