J Walter Thompson Asia Pacific has appointed Maureen Tan, most recently general manager of Southeast Asia for Commonwealth/ McCann, as CEO in Bangkok.
She succeeds Bob Hekkelman, whose return to his native Netherlands after 16 years with JWT and WPP was announced in November.
The agency said Tan will be charged with "the next stage of transformation" for JWT Bangkok, which is one of the network’s largest offices in the region and includes four units in addition to the creative agency: digital (Mirum), design (Degree), PR (Verve), and production (Chameleon).
Tan started her advertising career at Leo Burnett Malaysia and has been in Bangkok for more than 10 years. Prior to Commonwealth/ McCann she held MD roles at Atlas Communications and OgilvyOne Thailand. She has also worked at Geometry Global and OgilvyAction. Her career includes experience in ATL, shopper and retail marketing, social and digital, activation and CRM. She is also an experienced planner and integrator across cross-agency functions, according to JWT.
Jacco ter Schegget, Southeast Asia CEO since May last year, called Tan "the ideal modern-day integrated leader to drive Thailand’s combined offering forward" and "drive deeper collaboration between the five business units".