VIDEO: Leo Burnett to scrap regional HQ in Asia-Pacific

In an interview with Media, Ziebinski said: “Our regional headquarters have for years been based in Hong Kong from where the regional management team was overseeing and managing the region. I want to change that. I don’t think we need a regional headquarters any more. It’s an old-fashioned concept. We do not need the ivory tower where senior people sit down and oversee geography.”

Ziebinski, who was formerly the chairman of Leo Burnett in Central and East Europe, took over the role from Michelle Kristula-Green, who moved to Chicago earlier this year to head global HR at Leo Burnett.

In his first major interview since taking on the role, he discusses Leo Burnett’s growth plans in the region and how he intends to organise its assets.


Under Kristula-Green, Leo Burnett's Hong Kong headquarters supported regional operations outside Greater China. The reorganisation does not affect Leo Burnett Greater China, which reports direct to the global management. Ziebinski is based in Singapore.

Talking about how this move will impact the senior regional management based in Hong Kong, Ziebinski said that he would like to spread the team across countries in local offices. He also explained that the senior management team in local offices would be spending a significant amount of time helping him run the region and also spend some time working with the local team.

“This is not only cost-effective but is a smart way of making the regional senior people understand what is the best way to run the local operations so that we do not disconnect ourselves from the reality of the business. I think we will make a better use of our regional talent managing this way.”

When asked what will be the criteria for transferring a regional team member to a local office, Ziebinski said he will not be “creating artificial solutions.”

“If I see that I already have a solid digital base in Singapore then the guy heading the digital operations will be my digital partner helping me across the other markets. If I have a strong CRM expert sitting in Kuala Lumpur then I will use his expertise for other countries. I don’t want to create artificial solutions. I want to build from what exists and then expand.”