Tom Kao is appointed as Publicis Groupe Hong Kong CEO

Publicis Groupe, June 14 2018 – Hong Kong –Publicis Groupe today announced that Tom Kao has been appointed as CEO of Publicis Groupe Hong Kong.

In this new role, Tom Kao will be responsible for the 13 agencies under the Publicis umbrella, which include Publicis Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi, Leo Burnett, Publicis.Sapient, Luminous, MSL, Digitas, Arc, Blue 449, Performics, Spark Foundry, Starcom and Zenith, altogether leading more than 400 employees. He will report to Publicis Communications Greater China CEO, Michael Lee and begin immediately.

Kao will work closely with the Greater China leadership team to drive integration across Publicis Groupe’s capabilities, transform its relationship with existing clients, win the trust of new ones and of course cultivate and attract the best talent across its agencies and disciplines. Within this client-centered framework, all brands uphold their independence but share an operational backbone. The larger aim is to mobilize talent and resources to achieve the best performance possible within the Groupe for each campaign and every client.  From the creative, to planning, to execution, The Power of One offers seamless workflow and optimizes for best performance throughout campaigns, projects, and brandings under one P&L.

Michael Lee commented: “Tom’s appointment is the natural next step for the Groupe in Hong Kong. Over the last couple of years, we have seen several fruitful collaborations between our agencies and the Hong Kong staff is working closely under one roof. Tom’s extraordinary expertise in management is an asset in this ever-evolving market. I have full confidence that he will help us continue to carve out ways to amplify our The Power of One strategy and approach.”

On taking up the new role, Tom Kao said: “There are many prestigious agencies within Publicis Groupe’s Solution hubs, all with their distinctive cultures. We are truly proud of this diversity and the strength that each agency brings to the Groupe. Working together, we can break the rules of the traditional agency model to achieve the best results for our clients. There are certainly a lot of exciting changes taking place in the advertising industry right now, and I look forward to the exceptional impact that we as a team in Hong Kong can make."

Tom Kao earned his MBA from Cambridge University. Before joining Publicis Groupe, he held core leadership positions at Y&R, BBDO, and JWT and most recently, he was CEO at The Gate Hong Kong. Kao has more than 20 years of management experience and has been at the forefront of the Greater China Region’s advertising industry developments.