Ben Welsh might have thought that being the executive creative director behind M&C Saatchi’s biggest haul of Cannes Lions made 2015 a winning year. M&C came home from Cannes this year with 10 Lions, including one of the five Titanium Lions on offer.
That triumph has just been eclipsed. Welsh has been made M&C Saatchi’s creative chairman of Asia.
It’s a responsibility that acknowledges both Welsh’s acumen and M&C’s grasp of the growing importance of the Asian region.
China took over as the largest economy from the US in 2014. India has the fastest growing advertising industry in the world and Japan is the second most innovative country in the world.
“This appointment underlines our commitment to the core of our business – the creative product. Ben is the best combination of strategic thinker and creative leader. Add in his boundless energy and Asia will be hugely strengthened. He is also an excellent brand ambassador for M&C Saatchi having worked for us for the last 18 years,” Moray MacLennan, M&C Saatchi chief executive officer worldwide, stated.
Welsh’s focus will be pitching for both international and national brands in each region, attracting creative talent and developing the creative output of the five agencies the network runs there.
Welsh added, ‘I’m really excited at the thought of what we can do in the region. We have some brilliant people and I look forward to working with them to create an impact in such a diverse part of the world’.
Welsh will start his new role on October 1. His appointment follows the departure of Chris Jacques who was regional chief executive officer. He will be based in Sydney but regularly travelling to Singapore, New Delhi, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai and Tokyo.
Welsh began his ad career as a copywriter at McCann. He moved up to senior copywriter at DDB and stayed there for five years before he joined M&C in 1997. He has been at M&C ever since. Welsh was promoted to creative director in 2003. By this year, he had become the executive creative director leading 50 digital, direct, retail and above the line creatives in an ad agency placed on the top tier for creativity and innovation.
Want to know what makes Ben Welsh tick? Find out here
Want to know what he knows about advertising? Read that here.
