MediaCom has appointed Rupert McPetrie as the new chief executive for China.
McPetrie joins the agency from ZenithOptimedia, where he is currently chief executive for Central and Eastern Europe.
He takes over from APAC CEO Mark Heap, who has been acting China CEO, following Michael Zhangs move to a GroupM role in late 2014.
McPetrie will be responsible for heading up a new leadership team that has seen the appointment of Karl Wu as chief operating officer, Fabian Kietzman as chief digital officer, Jason Theodore as managing director Shanghai and Michelle Yin as finance director over the past few months.
Reporting to APAC CEO Mark Heap and Patrick Xu, GroupM China CEO, McPetrie will start his new role in August and will be based in Shanghai.
He brings with him extensive experience of managing large teams and complex markets. Previous roles in a 17-year career at Zenith include commercial director for ZenithOptimedia International and CEO of ZenithOptimedia Russia.
Heap said: [McPetrie] really stood out due to his great blend of talent, temperament and experience. He’s built a great reputation with many of the largest marketers in the business, which is important given our extensive client roster in China.
I’ve no doubt that his addition will be the start of an exciting new chapter of success for MediaCom China, our employees and our clients.
McPetrie said: I’m thrilled to be joining MediaCom China and leading what is already one of China’s most successful media operations. My goal will be to reinforce our position as the only media agency that truly understands the complex interplay between content and connections and to ensure we help our clients to maximize the business benefits across the entire communication system.
