Clarence Chiew joins Leo Burnett Singapore as ECD, Tim Green promoted to CCO + GCD on SKll

Leo Burnett Singapore has appointed Clarence Chiew (pictured) as executive creative director and promoted Tim Green to chief creative officer of Singapore and global creative director on SKII.

“Tim has made a big impact on our product in his first 12 months. The fruits of his labour are now being seen in the market here, around the region and the world. On top of that he has been active in attracting some of the best talent in the market to our office – Clarence being just one of these. It’s only natural that Tim’s effort gets recognized with his new scope across SKII. If you know Tim, he is one of the most hands-on creative leaders in the business – I don’t see this changing. I am looking forward to seeing what the partnership of these two great creative minds can bring,” said Josh Grace, managing director, Leo Burnett Singapore.

Commenting about Green’s appointment as global creative director on SKII, Chaitan Rao, global business leader – SKII at Leo Burnett said, “This is a big signal of our intention to deliver real HumanKind thinking on the SKII brand. Tim is an exceptional creative leader and one of the best in our entire network. He has already made significant impact on the thinking along with Tribe our new strategy lead.”

Continued Grace, “Clarence is a key hire for our agency. He is a perfect compliment for Tim. His diverse body of work across government businesses, banks, restaurants and airlines definitely speaks for itself.  Most importantly he has a great personality – the type of person you want on your team.”

Green expands, “Clarence is by far the best integrated creative on two legs in the market. His work is recognized around the world. To top it off he is a great guy. I am thrilled he is joining us and I am looking forward to working together to take the agency to the next level creatively”. 

This announcement comes on the back of the agency’s recent appointment of Nigel Tribe as head of strategy for Singapore and global planning director for SKII as well as new business wins including MBT, Skyscanner and Diageo Smirnoff assignments.

Prior to Leo Burnett, Chiew was the creative director of iris Singapore, where he worked with a wide variety of clients including Heineken, Tiger Beer, Johnnie Walker, ANZ, SingTel, Adidas, Audi, Shell and the Health Promotion Board.

Before joining iris, Chiew worked at JWT Singapore as an associate creative director, where he led integrated campaigns for the Singapore Economic Development Board, HSBC Singapore, Pizza Hut and SilkAir. For two consecutive years at JWT, he placed in WPP’s High Potential Group and was selected to represent Singapore in JWT’s Young Tigers programme.

A writer by trade but a builder at heart, Chiew’s employs a disciplinary-neutral approach to ideas and his diverse range of work has been recognized at Cannes, One Show, D&AD and regionally at Spikes and Adfest. But it’s his media and effectiveness awards that he’s proudest of, given his belief that advertising agencies aren’t so much in the business of creating ads, as they are in the business of creating value.

In 2013, as a testament to his multi-disciplinary passions, Chiew was selected to be a jury member in the Cannes Cyber category, invited to be a judge at the Singapore Media Awards, and was appointed President of the Radio category for the Singapore CCAs. To cap off the year, he was also nominated one of the 15 Most Influential Creative Directors in Singapore by the IAS.

Another of Chiew’s passions is education, and he has twice tutored for the Australiasian Writers and Art Directors (AWARD School, helmed a writing course at the Institute of Advertising Singapore’s (IAS) portfolio school, and was also a guest lecturer at LaSalle College of the Arts’ advertising degree course, where he was proud to have mentored the overall winner of the 2013 Student Crowbar Awards.