Cheuk Chiang assumes CEO role at Bastion's ANZ operations

Former Dentsu Creative APAC CEO Cheuk Chiang has assumed the role of chief executive of Australia and New Zealand at the marketing and communications agency Bastion.

In this new capacity, Chiang will oversee business expansion, operational functions, and profit and loss responsibilities across Bastion’s ANZ operations.

Chiang’s appointment follows Bastion’s recent acquisition of the digital creative agency AnalogFolk in Australia. AnalogFolk Australia has been at the forefront of innovative digital advertising, social media, product development, and experiential campaigns for a diverse clientele. By integrating these capabilities with Bastion, the shop enhanced its ability to deliver brand and communication strategies in the market.

Bastion Group CEO, Jack Watts, described Chiang’s appointment as “a major investment in our next phase of growth” and hailed him as “an evangelist for this industry and our transformative role in the world.” Watts emphasised the agency’s commitment to excellence: “We’re the biggest independent, but we want to be the best agency in the region, period. We’ve continually reinvested in our business, our people, and our clients over the years, and this is the next step on that journey.”

“We’ve got over 300 people across seven offices in Australia and New Zealand, and it’s critical now that we have someone leading the business working day in and day out to solve our client's biggest problems.”

Chiang, who previously held the position of Dentsu Creative’s APAC CEO, in addition to positions as Greater North CEO and chairman of Dentsu China, faced redundancy during a series of senior layoffs at Dentsu just before Christmas in 2023.

He brings a wealth of experience to the current role. Prior to joining Dentsu in December 2019, he served as the chairman of Mutiny Group, a predictive management consultancy and technology company. Before that, he led over 4,000 staff in 47 offices across 21 markets as the APAC CEO for Omnicom Media Group. Throughout his three-decade-long career, Chiang has presided over 140 ‘Agency of the Year’ awards and award-winning campaigns. He has also served as a judge at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity and held chairman and president roles at the APAC Effie’s, Spikes Asia, and Dubai Lynx award shows. In 2015, Campaign Asia honoured Cheuk as the Asia Pacific Agency Head of the Year.

Chiang expressed enthusiasm about his new role, stating, “After spending time with Bastion’s key leaders, talent, and clients, I was super impressed with the strength and depth of Bastion’s capabilities.”

“Few agency groups can help them do this with Bastion's strength of integrated capabilities. Leveraging Bastion’s well-stitched together offering and ‘one stop shop’ to help put clients in a position of strength as well as the ability to deliver industry-leading innovation got me very excited.”

Bastion, founded by brothers Fergus and Jack Watts, has grown over the past decade to become a key independent agency in the Asia Pacific region. The agency has prominent ANZ clients such as Air New Zealand, Microsoft, Xbox, Kellogg’s, Spark, Unilever, L’Oreal, Crown Resorts, and AIA on its roster.