Kelly Huang returns to MEC Taiwan as GM, succeeds Barry Chang

Vince Cheng, MD of MEC Taiwan, told Campaign Asia-Pacific that Chang resigned due to a health issue in his family. His last working day is 19 April, and his family is going to move to the US for a period of time.

Chang worked for the global marketing team at Heineken in Holland before moving back to Taiwan. “We appreciate a lot for Barry’s professional contribution to MEC for the past two years, and do hope Barry can re-join us in the near future when he comes back,” Cheng said.

Meanwhile Huang is Chang’s replacement to lead the 90-person team, effective 1 April. Huang was with MEC Taiwan from 2003 to 2009, and transferred to MEC Shanghai for another two years as business director. She worked on major client accounts including KFC, Estée Lauder, Watson’s and Yahoo Taiwan.

“Her creative mind is well balanced with her competance in strategic thinking," Cheng said. "She  helped MEC Taiwan win Cannes Lions & ABME international media awards, and we have already had good working relationship and chemistry.”

Not limited to media agencies during her China experiences, Huang also worked as the strategic and planning head for leading online video site YouKu.com.

Cheng, himself a 12-year veteran of MEC Taiwan who has worked with Mercedes-Benz, Chanel, Citibank, Wrigley, KFC, Quaker Oats and Singapore Airlines, said economic uncertainty is effecting marketing plans in the country. "There are very few big open pitches in the Taiwan market, as the economy is not as good as before and consumers have less confidence," he said. "Clients are becoming more conservative and take a wait-and-see attitude, planning their media quarter by quarter rather than for the whole year, though high-end clients are not so much affected.”