David Tang takes on regional role at DDB

Tang retains his role as head of the network’s Singapore office and will report to John Zeigler, chairman and chief executive of DDB Group Asia-Pacific, India and Japan.

A former management consultant, Tang joined DDB Singapore in 1998 as vice-president. He became president and chief executive in 2004.

DDB strives to position its Singapore operation as a regional best-practice hub. Aligning to that, the company said Tang will “strengthen and enhance DDB Group’s service capabilities, focusing on the network’s Southeast Asia operations and footprint”.

Tang himself told Campaign Asia-Pacific that, in simple terms, the new role means he will be responsible for putting best practices in place across the region and adapting strategies that work well in different markets for use in others. A big part of his role, he said, will involve “helping the whole organisation learn a lot faster” and taking advantage of opportunities for “organic collaboration” between offices.

Campaign named Tang Agency Head of the Year for Southeast Asia in 2011. His promotion follows that of Jeff Cheong to regional vice-president of Tribal Worldwide Asia in April.