Sonal Dabral and Reed Collins to take on creative leadership roles at Ogilvy in Asia replacing Eugene Cheong’s previous responsibilities

Ogilvy has announced a new creative leadership team in the Asia Pacific region with Reed Collins and Sonal Dabral to lead the agency’s creative efforts throughout Asia Pacific, with Collins (pictured right) continuing his focus on North Asia while Dabral (left) will take on the role of leading the agency’s South East and South Asia offices.

Eugene Cheong, who has served as Ogilvy’s Chief Creative Officer in Asia Pacific for the past decade, will be transitioning to a new role that is being finalized in joint conversations with Ogilvy and WPP. 

Piyush Pandey, Worldwide Chief Creative Officer said, “I would like to thank Eugene for his invaluable contributions throughout his tenure. He is a fantastic Creative champion, who has helped Ogilvy shine around the world”.

On the appointment of Dabral and Collins, Pandey added “I have great confidence in our next generation of leadership with Reed and Sonal to continue to deliver great creative solutions to all our clients.”

“Reed and Sonal are true Ogilvy giants with modern marketing skills and the right experiences to take the agency into the future. They are both dynamic, inspirational creative talents whose energy and ambition are infectious”, said Ogilvy co-Chief Executives Kent Wertime and Chris Reitermann.  

Collins joined Ogilvy in 2013, has since served as Chief Creative Officer in Hong Kong and was announced as Chief Creative Officer, North Asia in 2018. Dabral will remain based in India, where he has held the positions of Chief Creative Officer and Vice Chairman of South Asia. Collins and Dabral will work closely with Reitermann and Wertime in their business leadership roles, and with Piyush Pandey, as Ogilvy’s Chief Creative Officer, Worldwide.

Cheong first joined Ogilvy in 1981, before joining Batey Ads (in 1991) and The Ball Partnership (in 1994). He returned to Ogilvy in 1996 and was appointed to the Creative President role at Ogilvy Asia in 2009, when Tham Khai Meng was promoted to Worldwide CCO.

“I am proud of all that we have accomplished over my ten years as regional Creative leader for Ogilvy. Our offices, according to Campaign Brief Asia, are amongst the hottest in their markets with a few exceptions of course. We have, in my unbiased view, the best team of CCOs and ECDs in the Ogilvy world. If you want proof, our being named Cannes “Asia Creative Agency of the Year” in 2018 is hard evidence of that,” added Cheong (pictured right).

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