Dorett's role expanded to TBWA\Malaysia

Served as TBWA\Singapore’s COO since September 2009, the appointment will boost collaboration between the two agencies in Southeast Asia.

The management team in Malaysia is headed by managing director Aaron Cowie, executive creative director Jeff Orr, head of account management Shaun Tay, finance director Yeong Hoong Meng, Creative Juice\Sil’s MD and ECD Sa’ad Hussein and CFO Tan Lai Keat.

Cowie noted that Dorett’s wealth of experience in Singapore will help strengthen the efforts in Malaysia and achieve greater collaboration amongst the different operating entities.

“Collaboration is something we will do a lot more in 2012, enabling us to tap on the capabilities and expertise that we have within the TBWA\ Malaysia group and regional TBWA network.”

When he was still the agency’s CFO in 1997, Dorett pioneered TBWA\TEQUILA’s entry into the Singapore market, together with Phillip Brett, TBWA’s president for South and Southeast Asia.

Commenting on the appointment, Alain Rhoné, COO of TBWA\Group Asia Pacific, said, “Alrick’s track-record as COO in Singapore speaks for itself and makes him the natural choice to join the Malaysia team. He already has a strong relationship with the team there and I’m positive he will make a significant contribution to the success of the Malaysia operation as well as foster cross-border business opportunities that both agencies will benefit from.”

TBWA\Malaysia, which was formerly known as TBWA-ISC\Malaysia, saw a major boardroom change last year with the retirement of its chairman Austen Zecha. Cowie, who was then the agency's COO, subsequently stepped up as managing director. His promotion is part of the agency's succession plan which has been in motion for the past two years.

Zecha's retirement was linked to the agency's move of withdrawing from the tender process of its long-term client Tourism Malaysia. Under the ISC name, the agency was one of the tourism department's creative agencies for 12 years.

The rumour of TBWA acquiring Zecha's shareholding of about 30 per cent, following the loss of the Tourism Malaysia account, to subsequently rebrand the agency into a purely TBWA outfit had since surfaced. It is understood that the absorption of ISC into TBWA would not greatly affect the client list as most of the accounts were held under the TBWA name.

In November, the 17-year-old ISC was relaunched as an independent entity, with Zecha serving as the adviser. This "rebirth" was said to be prompted by the move that TBWA Worldwide exercising its Call Option on ISC's 25 per cent in its joint-venture in TBWA-ISC Malaysia.