Leaving behind a legacy

CEO Tony Savarimuthu is leaving.

KUALA LUMPUR: Dentsu Malaysia (formerly Dentsu Aegis Network) is bidding an emotional farewell to three veteran partners of Merdeka LHS, the creative agency it acquired in 2016. They are its CEO Tony Savarimuthu, and chief creative officers Huang Ean Hwa and Szu H. Lee.

Former CEO of dentsu Malaysia Nicky Lim and new CEO Tan Kien Eng are both grateful for everything these three have done in building, growing, and subsequently completing the earnout duration of Merdeka LHS and wish them the best of luck in their future endeavours.

“As these three ride into the sunset, their everlasting legacy has been imprinted into dentsu’s DNA and it is my honour to have served with them, ” said Lim.(pic below)

Savarimuthu has served the industry for more than a decade, formerly as vice-president and president of the Association of Accredited Advertising Agents (4As) introducing many progressive initiatives such as The Effies.

Commenting on his departure, Savarimuthu said: “I’ve had the good fortune of working on some of the world’s most renowned brands as well as go-getters striving to change the status-quo working with the best creatives.

“I wish to pay tribute to my long-time colleagues and friends Ean Hwa and Szu Lee, and not least Ali Mohamed and the late Yasmin Ahmad who were my past colleagues for their ideas, inspired creativity and for changing the perception and fortunes of many a brand both in Malaysia and globally.”

Meanwhile, Andrew Low has been appointed as new group chief creative officer for dentsu Malaysia’s creative line of service.

Low came highly recommended by Savarimuthu, Szu Lee and Hwa. Low’s career spans across three countries in the Asia-Pacific region with Ogilvy, Publicis One, and Leo Burnett.

His work has won a multiple awards at D&AD, Cannes Lions, The One Show, One Show China, China 4As, Clios, LIA, Adfest, AdStars, Spikes, Kancils, IPA Effectiveness Awards, AMEs, Effies (Asia-Pacific/China/Malaysia Editions) and WARC.

New CEO Tan Kien Eng

Low would be bringing dentsu’s creative powerhouses together to solve client’s marketing challenges in an ever-more virtual economy, championing meaningful progress in never-before ways for brands.

Commenting on his appointment, Low said: “ To spur growth, I believe it is fundamentally important to be agile, especially if we want to thrive in new creative business models. I am looking forward to working with the team and being a part of its unifying force.

Dentsu’s open teaming platform and spirit of radical collaboration was exemplified recently by the Creative Trends 2021 Report, uniting strategists, creatives and technologists across award-winning creative agencies to identify key opportunities for growth in the new virtual economy. Dentsu predicts that as contactless technologies continue to accelerate and socially distanced stores become the norm, we should expect to see brands ‘bring humanity to the point of purchase in new ways.’