McCann veteran Paul Swee rejoins Hong Kong office as ECD

Prior to Saatchi & Saatchi, Swee (pictured) was content production director at McCann Worldgroup Hong Kong. “Swee is a decade-long old veteran of McCann network, and we have strong working chemistry already,” Spencer Wong, chief creative officer and CEO of McCann Worldgroup Hong Kong, told Campaign Asia-Pacific.

Swee who speaks fluent Cantonese, Mandarin, English and Malay, started his career in his home country before working for McCann in Shanghai and Hong Kong, where he was on the Cathay Pacific team and served as creative content director. He helped McCann to win a string of creative awards including a 2009 Cannes Design Grand Prix for Nike's ‘Paper Batterfield’. His Chok! Chok! Chok! campaign for Coca-Cola won the Grand Kam Fan in 2011.

“McCann Worldgroup Hong Kong is in a very strong position as we move into 2014," Wong said. "Paul’s innovative approach to creativity and eye for detail will strengthen our creative product and further drive our reputation and growth."

Swee will take responsibility for internal creative quality control, while Wong will be more responsible for external affairs.

Wong said Swee and Dave McCaughan, who is relocating from Japan, will both assume their roles effective 1 January. McCaughan lived for 10 years in Japan and most recently served as regional director for Truth Central; regional planning director, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care; and general manager McCann Erickson.

"We are bringing these two super secret-powers upfront to make our office even more powerful,” Wong enthused.

Wong noted that the creative standard in the Hong Kong office is very strong. He hopes to strengthen strategic execution and inputs while freeing McCaughan to dedicate more time to management and developing new business.

In the coming year, McCann Hong Kong will be used as a hub for regional executions for clients like Solvil et Titus and will also oversee overseas expansions for Mainland clients including Darlie and Blue Moon (a Guangzhou-based detergent brand), he added.