Ogilvy fires global chief creative officer Tham Khai Meng after investigation found his behaviour was breach of company’s values, code of conduct
According to an internal memo from John Seifert, Chief Executive, Ogilvy Worldwide:
Khai obtained a BA at Central Saint Martins, and an MA from The Royal College of Art, London. Khai made his first professional mark at Leo Burnett in London and Chicago, before heading to Singapore and progressing to Batey. While there, his work on Singapore Airlines catalyzed Batey’s emergence as a regional leader.
In 2000, Khai served as Regional Creative Director and Co-Chairman of Ogilvy & Mather’s Asia Pacific network. This culminated in a seven year run from 2001 to 2008 as Campaign Brief Asia’s number one Network of the Year. Khai was awarded Creative Director of the Year for those seven straight years.
Khai joined Ogilvy & Mather’s Worldwide Board in 2005, when Media magazine named him “Regional Head of the Year” in Asia Pacific. In 2009, Khai assumed the duties of Worldwide Creative Director and Chairman of the Worldwide Creative Council at Ogilvy & Mather’s New York City headquarters.
Khai’s career building global brands has received honors from clients and every major award show around the world, including Cannes, D&AD, The One Show, Clios, and London International Awards. He has also chaired the jury panels for these shows. Khai has served on numerous boards including his current appointment to Agencies in Action in New York, a nonprofit coalition working to alleviate hunger. He was asked by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to sit on his Economic Review Committee, a think tank tasked with finding a strategic direction for Singapore as it migrated from a manufacturing to knowledge-based economy. In December 2009, Khai accepted the President’s Award, one of the country’s most distinguished honors, conferred by Singapore President S. R. Nathan.
3 Comments
Then:
Creative Director is a$$hole.
Has a vision to be the best.
Makes the creatives work all hours and nothing is ever good enough.
Creatives break through the talent gap.
Agency gets famous.
Creatives win awards and get pay rises.
Creative Director is held up as a hero.
Now:
Creative Director is a$$hole.
Has a vision to be the best.
Makes the creatives work all hours and nothing is ever good enough.
Creatives break through the talent gap.
Agency gets famous.
Creatives win awards and get pay rises.
Creative Director gets fired for being and a$$hole.
…moral of the story? Don’t be an a$$hole.
Greatness and a$$holes, a trend, like hipsters that we would all be better off the see the a$$ of.