Zhu + Ramakrishnan appointed as ECDs at Ogilvy Shanghai, as Chong Kin leaves Leo Burnett to take on ECD role at Ogilvy Beijing

Ogilvy & Mather China has appointed two new Executive Creative Directors at Ogilvy Shanghai. Thomas Zhu has been promoted from the Group Creative Director role and will form a new partnership with Jagdish Ramakrishnan, who moves out of Oglivy Beijing, where he had the same position, to transfer to Shanghai. In another appointment Chong Kin joins Ogilvy Beijing to fill the Executive Creative Director void left by Ramakrishnan.

Both Zhu and Ramakrishnan (pictured left) will run the Shanghai creative department under Graham Fink, Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy & Mather China.

Zhu will both broaden and deepen Ogilvy’s creative capabilities in the social and digital space. With more than 15 years of industry experience, he is not only one of the top Chinese writers in the market, but is one of the few local Chinese professionals in the industry to hold such a senior position. He has unrivalled knowledge of Chinese culture, as well as a large following on Weibo. His new role is effective immediately.

Commenting on his promotion, Thomas said, “I’m looking forward to taking the creative team to the next level, particularly in the digital advertising space which is growing rapidly in China. I’ll be using my energy and creative spirit to develop more cutting-edge, culturally-relevant campaigns that will make clients stand out from the crowd and also connect better with today’s consumers.”

At Ogilvy Beijing Ramakrishnan has been responsible for taking the team and creative work to new heights over the past two years.  He brings with him a wealth of experience in both the creative industry and Asia Pacific, having worked in India and Singapore, before moving to Beijing. Ramakrishnan joined Ogilvy in 2009 after a long and highly awarded career at Saatchi & Saatchi Singapore and, briefly at BBDO Singapore. In November 2012 he moved to Ogilvy Beijing as ECD. He has a proven track record in creating world-class work, highlighted by the “Visit Britain” campaign, which is a frontrunner at Cannes 2015. He will take up his new role in June.

Ramakrishnan said: “The advertising landscape in China is changing quickly and unpredictably. But it’s clear that consumers, marketers and the creative community are all gaining confidence day by day. My experience in Beijing taught me that to produce effective work you need to understand the comfort zones of your clients and colleagues, and to play to their strengths. This approach will be key to making us bigger and better at what we do in Shanghai.”

Chong Kin (pictured right) has joined Ogilvy Beijing as Executive Creative Director from Leo Burnett. Chong Kin has over 20 years’ experience in the industry, having worked on accounts across the FMCG, luxury and telecoms sectors. In his role, he will work closely with Doug Schiff, National Executive Creative Director at OgilvyOne China, to develop more integrated, creative campaigns. Chong Kin will add to the dynamic new team structure under Graham Fink.  

Commenting on the changes Fink said, “As China increasingly becomes a global creative hub, we need to be able to produce work that is internationally recognised, as well as create highly insightful and compelling campaigns for the China market. The new ECD roles in our Shanghai office will combine the individual strengths of these two leading creative talents. In Beijing, Chong Kin will be instrumental in strengthening the offer in our largest office in China even further. These exciting appointments also underline our continued commitment to nurturing and promoting local talent. I’m looking forward to working closely with them all enormously.”