David Mayo to lead bates Asia as CEO

Tim Isaac, Chairman of bates Asia, today announced that David Mayo will take over as CEO of the agency network as he retires at the end of October.

Mayo who came to Asia in 1994 from London to join bates in Hong Kong was hired by Isaac to Ogilvy & Mather in 1997 to run Guinness, among other regional business. In the time since, he founded creative boutique, RedCard andafter 2005went on to hold several key senior roles at Ogilvy, including the Presidency of Ogilvy & Mather Advertising, Asia’s largest Advertising Agency and latterly of Ogilvy & Mather ASEAN.

“David is one of Asia’s mostexperiencedandcreative agency leaders with a very strong track record in building brands and driving creativity,” says Tim Isaac. “He is a born entrepreneur and has put many of our clients’ brands firmly ahead of their competitors.He is the right person to build on the good work and the platform that has been established and to take bates to the next level in its long history in Asia.”

Mayo’s track record with clients in Asia such as Guinness, Nike, Gillette, The Economist, Motorola, Coke and Diageo will bring added impetus to Bates as the agency model changes in Asia. His brief will be to galvanize the agency leadership, develop the bates brand and establish a new network model.

When I originally came to Asia in 1994, it was to work at bates, said Mayo. “It has a very strong track record as a maverick and creative brand in Asia and it has a unique place in a region of the world where more and more clients are asking for the bespoke and the personal. We will take bates to the next level. I am returning to take this heritage and fashion a fresh new agency offer for ambitious brand owners across the region.”

“David’s verve, energy and drive will be the perfect tonic for bates. David has done a brilliant job at Ogilvy across the region for more than a decade. I will miss him personally but am delighted he remains part of the broader family,” said Paul Heath, Chairman, Ogilvy & Mather Asia Pacific.

Bates’ major clients in Asia include HSBC, Shanghai General Motors, Diageo, Philip Morris, Cheong Kong, Colgate, Castrol, P&G, Disney, Nokia, Singapore Government, Marico, Kraft and Yum Restaurants. They have 12 offices in Taiwan, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Vietnam, KL, Singapore, Manila, Jakarta, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Delhi.