It is not clear how Lee’s chairwoman role will differ from her current CEO role. One source close to the matter questioned whether Lee, who has been CEO for eight years, is being sidelined.
Based in Shanghai, Teeman starts starts in Q1 2014. He joins Aegis Media China from WPP’s Blue Hive unit, a full-service agency in London where, for four years, he was part of the global management team running media and account planning for Ford Motor. An Aegis’s spokesperson said Teeman left his job in London on 25 October.
“In the last 24 months Aegis Media China has doubled in size and complexity," said Nick Waters, CEO of Aegis Media Asia-Pacific. "This requires additional management bandwidth. At the same time all global marketing companies are looking to China to drive growth for their businesses."
When Campaign Asia-Pacific reported the news of Lee’s promotion on 12 September, Waters denied it at as “nonsense”, while Lee offered only a 'no comment'.
About the new appointment, Waters said that Teeman's knowledge and experience from working with some of the "world's largest and most sophisticated advertisers,” along with "KF's exceptional national market knowledge and experience", will provide a needed balance of leadership skills.