12 days of Christmas: Top five agency-staff breakups of 2010

Reported in August,  CEO of OMD Asia-Pacific Maggie Choi confirmed her departure from Omnicom Media Group after 13 years with the network.

One of the founding members of OMD in the region, Choi ran the operation in Greater China before being given the OMD Asia-Pacific remit in 2008.  Prior to OMD, Choi also played an important role in the launch of what is now Zenith Optimedia in Hong Kong.

At the time, OMD stated Choi’s reason for departing was to pursue personal interests.  Choi's departure became effective on 1 November.

Choi has yet to be replaced.

After 25 years with Bates 141, Jeffrey Yu confirmed in October that he was asked to the leave the agency.

In a personal statement, Yu said he had been requested to step down due to disagreements over the future direction of the agency network.  According to a company statement, he was leaving to pursue other interests.

Tim Isaac, chairman of Bates Ogilvy Group in Asia-Pacific, took on regional management responsibilities while the agency searches for a replacement.

At the time, Yu’s departure date had not yet been confirmed.

In another long-term exit, Gary Tse, CEO and chairman of Greater China at Draft FCB, confirmed he left the agency after 23 years in March.

Tse joined the agency in the 1980s and has been on board through a number of mergers and acquisitions, including being bought by IPG three years ago.

Tse said he intends to become an entrepreneur and set up his own company to capture the “golden opportunity in the consumer market in China.”

He added, “I intended to leave last year. I won’t touch the advertising industry any more after being in a corporate job for 23 years.”

Reported in June, Pully Chau was appointed to succeed Tse.  She came on board in July.

Warren Hui put Vivaki Exchange in a difficult position when reports emerged in September that he had abruptly left his position as CEO following his suspected involvement in a corruption case relating to the agency’s media broker, Chongqing Huayu.

General manager Ye Pengtao was also removed from his office alongside Hui.

In November, Vivaki Exchange issued a statement announcing its intent to distance itself from the scandal. Both executives’ contracts were suspended pending the outcome of the judicial process.

Interim CEO Li Yifei, country chair in China, stated that Hui is investigated because of his personal conduct, which has nothing to do with the agency.

In a shock exit after less that a year in the role, Ruth Stubbs announced she was leaving her position as president of Mediabrands Asia-Pacific in June. She came on board in April last year to replace outgoing president Jeff Cressall.

According to Matt Seiler, global CEO of UM, Stubbs decided to pursue “other exciting opportunities closer to home.”

In November, Stubbs re-emerged as APAC president at iProspect, an Aegis Group agency.  She will continue to be based in Singapore and her role becomes effective on 10 January.

Stubbs' former position at Mediabrands has yet to be filled.

Catch the top five ECDs of 2010, top five promotions of 2010 and top five agency-client breakups in 2010 .

Coming up on 12 Days of Christmas:

• Top five make-ups
• Top five pitches
• Top five viral campaigns
• Top five look-a-likes
• Top five gadgets
• Top five campaigns
• Top five most read articles
• Top five christmas ads