PHD Singapore MD moves to Carat China as CEO

Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN) has appointed Wan-Gyn Ang to be the successor of Ellen Hou, who stepped down as Carat China CEO in May 2018.

A rumour that Ang was moving to DAN to take on an APAC-level role appeared in December. Overall, the search for a China CEO took so long due to a "very rigorous process", according to DAN.

Susana Tsui, CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network China, stepped in to cover the China CEO role upon Hou's departure.

"We wanted to take the necessary time to find a candidate who could both bring fresh energy and innovation, while being able to seamlessly integrate with the rest of our team and understand the unique needs of the Chinese market," a spokesperson said.

Based in Shanghai, Ang will report to Tsui, who made the same move from PHD's Singapore office to DAN China a year ago. In a release, Tsui described Ang as an "energetic, transformative leader" with a "deep passion for innovation and product development". Ang will be leading the charge to deliver data-driven communication strategies for clients of Carat operations in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou.

DAN chose to hire externally from Omnicom instead of promoting from within the network in order to "hire the candidate with the best fit for the role both from a knowledge and cultural perspective", since Ang worked previously in China, Taiwan and most recently Singapore. Incidentally, her track record of "building cohesive teams that nurture talent from within" was another hiring criterion.

Ang was the managing director for PHD Singapore for more than five years before this move. PHD Singapore's former strategy director, Priya Alexander, rejoined the agency last month as Ang's replacement in the MD role.

Prior to PHD, Ang was partner at M2M Singapore, another agency brand under Omnicom Media Group. Her stint in China was during her time at OMD and MEC between 2006 and 2011.

Ang said her decision to join Dentsu Aegis Network was driven by its integrated model and investment in the next generation of marketing services solutions. China's "sheer scale, rapid pace of change, and cutting-edge technological and digital development" are also swaying factors.