Integrated marketing and communications agency Bastion has appointed industry leader, Cheuk Chiang, as CEO for Australia and New Zealand.
Chiang, whose career has been in creative, media, data and technology, will be responsible for driving business expansion and have operational and P&L responsibility across Bastion’s ANZ business.
Bastion Group CEO Jack Watts says the appointment represents the latest major step in agency growth and continued success within Bastion.
“We’ve been in business almost 15 years and it’s a thrill to bring in someone of Cheuk’s calibre to lead our business across ANZ. It’s a testament to the quality of our people, the trust our clients’ place in our abilities and the fearless approach we have taken to building this agency over the years.
“We’ve got 300-plus people across seven offices in ANZ and it’s critical now that we have someone leading the business working day in day out to solve our clients biggest problems,” said Watts.
“Cheuk’s appointment represents a major investment in our next phase of growth. We’re the biggest independent, but we want to be the best agency in the region, period.”
“We’ve continually reinvested in our business, our people and our clients over the years and this is the next step on that journey. Some people ask me ‘When are you guys going to slow down?’, but personally, I don’t think we’re going fast enough.
“The world is changing, and our clients need a partner who can put them in a position of strength to meet these changes head on. We need to constantly evolve and be a better business every day for our people and clients, and in some way the industry.
“We operate in a brilliant industry. We exist at the intersection between our clients and growth. That’s a seriously good place to be and we need to celebrate and revere that. That’s what we loved about Cheuk through what was an extensive process to appoint this role. He’s an evangelist for this industry and our transformative role in the world. We grow businesses, and I’ve never met a CEO or CMO who didn’t think that was a good idea.”
Chiang previously held roles with Dentsu, Mutiny, Omnicom Media Group and cummins&partners.
Chiang’s career includes milestones such as leading OMD and PHD to over 130 local and regional agency of the year awards across the Asia Pacific region.
Chiang has also been involved in industry events as judge at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity and as chairman and president of esteemed industry awards such as the APAC Effie Awards and Spikes Asia Media jury.
“After spending time with Bastion’s key leaders, talent, and clients, I was super impressed with the strength and depth of Bastion’s capabilities. In a world where clients are struggling to survive and thrive against challenging market forces, they need help to not only better compete but also gain competitive advantage,” said Chiang.
“Few agency groups can help them do this with the strength of integrated capabilities that Bastion has. Leveraging Bastion’s well stitched together offering and “one stop shop” to help put clients in a position of strength as well as the ability to deliver industry leading innovation got me very excited.”
