David Mayo steps into Tim Isaac's shoes; named CEO, Bates Asia

Mayo is based in Singapore right now. As the Asia head of Bates, his mandate includes India. His mandate is to galvanise the agency leadership, develop the Bates brand and establish a new network model.

David Mayo has been named chief executive officer of the Bates Asia network. The appointment comes in the wake of Tim Isaac's impending retirement. Isaac, the current chairman of Bates Asia, will retire by the end of the month.

Mayo is based in Singapore right now. As the Asia head of Bates, his mandate includes the Indian region. His brief is to galvanise the agency leadership, develop the Bates brand and establish a new network model.

Isaac says in an official communiqué, "David (Mayo) is one of Asia's most experienced and creative agency leaders, with a very strong track record in building brands and driving creativity. 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, the platform that has been established and to take Bates to the next level in its long history in Asia."

In 1994, Mayo came to Asia from London to join Bates in Hong Kong. He was hired by Isaac at Ogilvy & Mather in 1997 to run the Guinness account, among other regional businesses. Since then, Mayo founded creative boutique RedCard and after 2005, also went on to hold several key senior roles at Ogilvy, including the presidency of Ogilvy & Mather Advertising and later of Ogilvy & Mather ASEAN.

"When I originally came to Asia in 1994, it was to work at Bates. It has a very strong track record as a maverick and creative brand in Asia and 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," says Mayo about his new mandate.

In Asia, besides Guinness, Mayo has worked with clients such as Nike, Gillette, The Economist, Motorola, Coke and Diageo. This experience is expected to bring added impetus to Bates as the agency model changes in Asia.

Paul Heath, chairman, Ogilvy & Mather, Asia Pacific, comments, "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."

Bates' key 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.

In the Asian region, Bates has 12 offices including those in Taiwan, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Manila, Jakarta, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Delhi.