McCann Worldgroup Singapore has promoted Gonzalo Olivera to chief executive officer as part of a planned leadership change. Paul Soon is stepping down and moving to the United States for personal reasons.
Olivera was previously president of McCann Singapore, where he helped unite McCann and MullenLowe Singapore into a single team after Omnicom acquired Interpublic Group. As CEO, he will lead the agency’s next stage of growth and focus on creating a more unified and business-focused creative approach.
The agency said it wants to become a stronger growth partner for clients by focusing on its “Truth well told” philosophy. It also plans to put more emphasis on creating demand, staying culturally relevant, building trust, and driving measurable business growth.
Olivera joined McCann Worldgroup in 2013 and moved to Singapore to manage global Unilever accounts. He later held several leadership roles at MullenLowe Singapore before joining the combined McCann leadership team after the integration.
Paul Soon’s departure comes after a planned six-month succession process to keep the agency’s teams and clients supported. While at McCann Singapore, Soon helped lead the merged business, grew its government and digital clients, and expanded its AI capabilities.
Before joining McCann, Soon was CEO of MullenLowe Singapore and China. He also led POSSIBLE Singapore and Mirum Agency, and earlier held leadership roles at JWT, XM Asia Pacific, Arc Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi, and AKQA.
Sean Donovan, president of Omnicom Advertising Asia, praised Soon for helping McCann Singapore strengthen its creative identity and client relationships. He also said he is confident that Olivera will successfully lead the agency in the future.
Olivera thanked Soon for shaping the agency’s culture and direction. He said that relationships, transparency, and collaboration are important values that will remain part of the company after Soon leaves.
Soon looked back on his long career in Singapore’s creative industry, thanked his colleagues and collaborators, and encouraged the McCann Singapore team to keep living by the agency’s “Truth well told” philosophy at work and in life.
This leadership change is part of Omnicom’s ongoing efforts to reshape its regional operations following its acquisition of IPG. Recently, Omnicom Advertising Asia also announced a new regional leadership structure to drive growth and improve integration across networks such as TBWA, McCann, and BBDO.
