APAC chairman and CEO Jean-Paul Burge departs BBDO

Jean-Paul Burge, chairman and CEO of BBDO Asia since 2015, is departing the agency after 18 years, with Greater China CEO Tze Kiat Tan stepping up to succeed him.

In addition, the agency promoted Hans Lopez from chief operating officer for Greater China to chief operating officer for Asia and promoted Beck You from MD in Beijing to Greater China CEO.

Burge has made the decision to relocate his family to Europe, according to the agency.

As APAC chairman and CEO, Tze will remain based in Shanghai, where she joined as a group account director 18 years ago. The network promoted her to CEO of BBDO Greater China in 2015, and she joined the board of BBDO Worldwide in 2019.

“I’m excited about the tenacity and energy Tze will bring to her new responsibilities,” Andrew Robertson, president and CEO of BBDO Worldwide, said in a release. “I’d also like to thank JP for his dedication and commitment to our business during his time at BBDO, especially in the last two challenging years under Covid.”

Tan said her first order of business will be to get to know the region better, engage with teams and clients, and "listen, learn, and figure out how I can help". 

Lopez has been with the company for more than a decade and the network credits him with establishing the planning function in BBDO China and architecting much of the agency’s new business success. He will be charged developing planning capabilities, driving plans for transformation and growth, and cementing multi-country client relationships, the agency said.

You has presided over a doubling of business in Beijing over the past three years, according to the agency.