Appointed as GM of Y&R Guangzhou, Da Rosa will service the agency's clients including Changhong, China Southern Airlines, Midea, Guang Fa Bank, Arawana, Guiyang IFC, Ping An and Goldlion Group.
He has been in the industry for more than 20 years—nine of them in China and most recently at Li Ning as director of its brand communications department. Prior to that, da Rosa spent 13 years at JWT, Leo Burnett and Y&R in his native Hong Kong.
Charles Sampson, CEO of Y&R China, told Campaign Asia-Pacific that Xia had a hand in choosing da Rosa as his successor from among many candidates.
“Michael’s key achievement is that he clearly saw the need to make local business the main focus [in Guangzhou], and the agency now works with most of the key local players," Sampson said.