Singapore – MediaCom, the media agency by media investment company GroupM, has announced the appointment of Rupert McPetrie as APAC CEO, following the upcoming departure of Mark Heap, who is moving within the group to join sister agency Mindshare as its EMEA CEO.
McPetrie, who will also continue his current role as CEO for Greater China, will expand his area of responsibility to lead the regional operations of the WPP-owned network and take responsibility for more than 1600 people across 21 offices. He will also join the MediaCom Worldwide Exco and will be reporting directly to Global CEO Nick Lawson.
Rupert holds extensive experience in Greater China having spent six years leading MediaCom in the region. Aside from his work in MediaCom, he’s held leadership roles in regional operations during his time as the CEO of media company Zenith for Central and Eastern Europe.
Lawson shared his praises for the upcoming APAC CEO.
“Rupert is quite simply a brilliant leader. Throughout his time leading our China operations, he has developed numerous client solutions and brought the best talent to our agency via game-changing solutions and capabilities, such as Incite Consulting and China Passport. All his great work has grown our business from number 6 to number 2 in the market, and we look forward to him reapplying this magic across the region building on Mark’s outstanding legacy,” Lawson said.
McPetrie said he is thrilled to take on this expanded role and have the opportunity to work with all the people and clients to build on the strong business momentum the company has in the region.
“This is in part due to the recent slew of new business wins, such as The Coca Cola Company and Bayer, but importantly also down to our incredible clients and the work we do for them across APAC. Our People First, Better Results proposition has been at the heart of our growth, together with our extended Bigger Picture capabilities that drive our clients’ businesses forward,” Mcpetrie said.