40 Under 40 2022: Ker Loon Ang, Publicis Groupe

Ker Loon Ang

Managing director, data solutions, Edge
Publicis Groupe 
China

Having spent his formative years in Southeast Asia before moving to China in 2011, Ker Loon Ang shot through the ranks with Publicis Groupe’s media agency Starcom and also spent time with Sizmek, where he was a consultant to advertisers on adtech transformation agendas.

Now the data solutions lead at Publicis Groupe’s specialist arm Edge, Ang’s well-rounded agency experience in media strategy, trading, and adtech has enabled him to step into strategic leadership roles in an agile manner and effectively deliver business results for clients.

For example, in one of the most significant media assignments for L’Oréal, Ang worked with and led a team of over 20 media, performance and content practitioners in onboarding more than 27 beauty brands in less than 90 days. Media planning and booking processes were re-engineered to fit the fast-paced China beauty category through platform automation, centralisation of expertise talent and agile commercial compliance checks. 

This resulted in more than 100 media campaigns being booked, 95% of media deals being successfully negotiated, and more than 40 dedicated new hires being onboarded.

His secret? Listening to progressive house music. Ang is a massive fan of electronic music as it helps to calm his nerves before big pitch meetings.

Ang is also passionately invested in mentoring young, rising stars who will make up the future of Publicis and the industry. He is on the jury panel of Publicis Roar, a programme dedicated to developing and nurturing young talent and next-generation leaders. Through this programme, more than 10 rising star talents from Edge have been given promotions in recognition of their contribution and future potential.

Outside of work, Ang is currently part of a jury panel of industry experts in China Advertising Association’s (CAA) most recent initiative, the Golden Measurement Certification. This initiative aims to elevate China's digital advertising standards through strict qualification measures covering criteria such as implementing industry measurement standards, commercial transparency and accountability, and advertising effectiveness. 

He is also one of the founding members of the China Media Assessment Council (CMAC), an extension of the Media Ratings Council (MRC) in China. To foster connections and share knowledge between the East and West, Ang conducted a China PIPL (Personal Information Protection Law) immersion and education series, rolled out globally, where he presented to over 250 global client participants on the state of China consumer privacy developments.