Ogilvy & Mather has announced the appointment of Adam O’Conor as Asia Pacific President of Global Brand Management (GBM) effective immediately. O’Conor will also retain his position as Chief Executive Officer for the network’s regional headquarters in Hong Kong.
O’Conor is no stranger to the O&M network, starting his career in London as a graduate trainee. For the last 20 years he’s held positions spanning Europe and Australia. The latter being an appointment in 2001 that took him to Sydney as Regional Business Director for IBM, followed by a move to Hong Kong in 2007 to take leadership of the Coca-Cola account across the region. He was appointed to his current position as Chief Executive Officer of O&M Hong Kong in 2010 – looking after 7 local business units with more than 350 staff.
Commenting on O’Conor’s appointment, Paul Heath – Chairman & CEO of O&M Asia Pacific said: “Adam was always at the top of the list for this important role in the region. His last five years as CEO of the Hong Kong operation has been nothing short of remarkable, and his hands-on approach to nurturing and attracting world-class talent has skyrocketed the creative reputation of the office. Amongst our internal global creative office rankings, Hong Kong has jumped from #29 to #9 in the world. He’s a natural fit for this extended remit, he’s one of our best, and I’m looking forward to seeing his transformational approach applied to our most important clients in the region”.
O&M’s Global Brand Management team includes a who’s who of global brands in Asia Pacific, and accounts for a significant volume of revenues for the network across its 37 offices in the region. Brands include American Express, IBM, Coca-Cola, UPS, and YUM! to name a few.
O’Conor said: “I’m both thrilled and honoured at this opportunity to work with such a prestigious portfolio of clients. Many of these brands are at the front line of a very competitive marketplace, facing a plethora of new questions, and as someone who has a passion for the challenges of modern brand building – these are exciting times”.
In response to the question of if more Asian brands will become a part of O&M’s GBM community in the region, O’Conor added: “There is no question. Asian brands with a global ambition are going to be a focus of growth for our GBM community. This is beyond just being an emerging trend, and I passionately believe in the power of ideas and creativity to help these brands take their rightful place on the world stage”.
