UM has appointed Ben Crawford, its chief client officer for APAC, as chief executive of Greater China, effective immediately. In the newly created role, Crawford will move from Singapore to Shanghai and have a dual reporting line to the regional president of UM APAC, Kasper Aakerlund, and the chief executive of IPG Mediabrands Greater China, Melinda Po.
UM China has been without a named CEO since May 2023, after Lawrence Wan, the agency’s first China CEO, resigned from Mediabrands after two years into the role, citing personal reasons. Simultaneously, Jacky Tang, the former chief operating officer of Mediabrands China, also resigned from his position, citing similar reasons. The agency confirmed these departures to Campaign at the time, though details about their replacements remained unconfirmed until now.
Crawford brings over 20 years of media and advertising experience to the role, having served as the regional chief client officer for UM over the last two years. He first joined IPG Mediabrands in March 2016 as a regional communications planning director. Prior to his roles at IPG, he was head of investments (Melbourne) for Starcom MediaVest Group and a senior media trader at Mediacom, respectively—with both positions based out of Australia.
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