Stephen Mangham and Robert Gaxiola open new Singapore startup with SGD25 million in billings
After working together for many years at Ogilvy Singapore Stephen Mangham and Robert Gaxiola have teamed recently to launch ManghamGaxiola – the biggest independent start-up in Singapore with over SGD25 million in billings.
Mangham (left) is ex-Ogilvy Group Chairman who resigned from the network in November last year following an internal transfer that saw him appointed to head Ogilvy’s Indonesian office. Under his leadership, Ogilvy Singapore close to trebled their revenue and in less than six years went from 240 people to 600 strong. Yet, topping Marketing Magazine’s annual client survey six years in a row is the one accolade he is most proud of.
Gaxiola was previously Executive Creative Director at Ogilvy Singapore. He left Ogilvy in July last year.
He first arrived in Singapore in 1995 and his career highlights include: being named the Hall of Fame’s first creative director of the year, chairing the 4A’s Creative Circle Awards and representing Singapore on the Cannes Lions’ jury. He returned to the USA only once to work at San Francisco’s Goodby Silverstein and Partners, and on Hyundai Motor’s iconic Think About It campaign.
Gaxiola (left) was recruited by Ogilvy Singapore in 2009 to partner with Mangham. In the end, they both left the building with a duffle of medals, Cannes Lions and a coveted D&AD Yellow Pencil.
Mangham says the aim is to make this breakaway agency a great place to work and a greater place for clients to find serious creativity.
“There will be no philosophies, titles, timesheets or Lotus Notes. It’s just not that sort of place,” said Mangham.
31 Comments
Good on you both. You will make a great team and deserve great success.
NICE! All the best Stephen and Rob!
They wait on their clients hand on foot.
…..erm, and the 25 million in billings is…what?
big claim, big headline, and then nothing.
“a great place to work with no lotus notes”
what’s the story here?
Go for it guys! You deserve success!
abcdef:
Well the papers said their foundation client was CIMB Bank when this broke a week ago. I don’t know if they bill 25M, but it would be substantial. Neither Stephen and Gax are cheap and I can’t imagine they’d set up a shop that did not cover their salaries.
Given CIMB was an Ogilvy client, that Ogilvy had always shuffled CIMB around between various not-quite-Ogilvy entities so they could handle or pitch for other financial business, and that this all seems very amicable indeed, I am wondering if Ogilvy has a hidden shareholding. But that is just idle speculation on my part.
What a bunch of nasty people.
From their website:
“Stephen and Gax escape evil mother ship to open the biggest independent start-up in Singapore with over SGD25 million in billings.”
It just all sounds vengeful and smells like bullshit.
theaddude;
Knowing Stephen personally I can tell you that the last thing he is is nasty – please do not speak about what you do not know…it makes you sound ignorant
If you’d ever worked at Ogilvy Singapore, ‘evil mother ship’ is probably the mildest thing you could possibly say about that place.
I like Stephen – and Gax too for that matter.
But my one beef with Stephen was that while he was great and a jolly nice chap with it, he did nothing to try to improve the awful culture at O&M. I wish them both luck and hope their new agency leaves the ‘evil mother ship’ for dead.
One thing not factored in when opening an agency is karma. One value always holds true in this industry. You can be tough on the work but be nice to people.
Changing the culture of a huge agency like Ogilvy is not a one-man responsibility. Especially since they keep hiring people who have stinking attitudes.
Everyone in Ogilvy should stop being bitter and stop throwing sour grapes when they did nothing to appreciate the people who worked on the business.
Losing the account and hence the bonus for the year just means everyone in Ogilvy needs to start working a little harder because they can’t rely on the cash cow to cover up revenue gaps anymore. Good luck Ogilvy. Karma it is to the evil mother ship.
The story is, no time is wasted doing nonsense like timesheets or getting wedged between politics, attitudes or having to believe philosophies that are preached but never practiced in a big agency like Ogilvy.
It also means Ogilvy just lost a big chunk of revenue and are probably kicking themselves in their ass for making such a dumb mistake of screwing over those people.
It also means you are one of the bitter ignorant people from Ogilvy who just can’t get over it.
Karma is a punishing bitch!
Especially one knows how to use social media.
As Gax has found out last year.
But when it comes to business, I wish more power to anyone who can strike back at the evil empire.
The trick about sending out glowing PRs is that high expectations attract cynics and critics but not always clients.
At the end of the day, the proof is in the eating.
Let’s hope it’s not their words. Or humble pie.
Good luck boys!
It’s totally fine by me if they’ve come out with an attitude that borders on humility considering how they two of them have conducted themselves in their time at Ogilvy.
But to say ‘evil mothership’ and ‘no timesheets, lotus notes…’ smacks of childish spite – something MG will come to learn – will come to bite them in the backside.
Gregory said it all…Karma’s a real bitch – just like the exes.
Wow and wow again….. Stephen I have no doubt you will rock the kasbah. See you at a pitch somewhere soon…… Finally a worthy opponent.
The story is, no time is wasted doing nonsense like timesheets or getting wedged between politics, attitudes or having to believe philosophies that are preached but never practiced in a big agency like Ogilvy.
It also means Ogilvy just lost a big chunk of revenue and are probably kicking themselves in their ass for making such a dumb mistake of screwing over those people.
It also means you are one of the bitter ignorant people from Ogilvy who just can’t get over it.
@abcdefg, your world may be consumed by Ogilvy but It’s not just about Ogilvy. Remember, RG has been around for a while. Worked with hundreds of people in many agencies. How you act over the course of your entire career is what’s important. And that was my point, be a good person first and foremost. People say a leopard can’t change its spots, but for RG’s sake, I hope he can shed them.
Oh come on where’s your sense of humor, bitter Ogilvy-an!?
And really, who on earth likes doing timesheets or using lotus notes?
You have no idea about the kind of nonsense that goes on in Ogilvy.
Hearing about it, and experiencing it first hand, I couldn’t agree more that evil is the mildest way to describe that agency.
If it has 600 people, let’s face it. It is 600 times more likely to have horrible people than any other agency.
Everyone waits on their clients hand on foot. At least they get paid for it, unlike some other accounts with embarrassing fees yet demand the same kind of attention.
“Escaped the evil mothership.”
Addendum: “Escaped the evil mothership that Stephen Mangham and Robert Gaxiola helped to create.”
Ironically, since they both left, the evil mothership seems to have become just the mothership.
Is everyone in Ogilvy really that free to spit venom continuously here?
Oh of course they are… they just lost their biggest account.
@ an ex-Ogilvy now MG employee,
We of all people coming from the advertising industry, know that any kind of humour, well intended or not, may not come across as humour.
Yes, few people appreciate the humdrum of timesheets or lotus notes, but few would say it is a reason to leave the evil mothership. If Stephen and Robert truly hated it, perhaps then it is hypocritical of them not to do anything to change it.
I personally don’t see how you arrive at the statistic of 600 people = 600 times more likely to have horrible people. Well if MG has 10 people now is it 10 times more likely to have horrible people?
My point was – be humble, be hardworking – because some wise man once said “Be nice to people on your way up because you’ll know know who you’ll meet on your way down.” MG is on the up now with its recent PR but let’s see its true face when the push comes to shove. We all know what a monster the pressure can do to even the best of people.
Goodluck 🙂
So Ogilvy is a better place without them? Excellent. Sounds like everyone is a winner here.
I’m so glad there is a kinder, gentler Ogilvy under Steve Back’s leadership. Please pass the tambourine.
Can everyone just get on with their lives?
Yes, everyone has heard that this Steve Back is quite tough. Wonder why he hired what other agencies fired?
@pete
Well-said. Leave these guys alone. You must be really insecure to want to take down a little agency. Face it, they’re a powerhouse duo. I think they’ll do relatively well.
Wasn’t Rob off to write a book? Here: http://www.campaignbriefasia.com/2011/07/robert-gaxiola-to-leave-the-ex.html
And did everyone forget how Mangham was unceremoniously shipped off to Jakarta? Here: http://www.campaignbriefasia.com/2011/08/fiona-gordon-appointed-group-c.html
Thats old news dude. Get with the times, it’s now 2012 not 2011.
Tealmonster:
Finally, someone who is mature and has some sense! Totally agree with you dude.
I am appalled at how people at Ogilvy are handling this. You’d think such a large agency would be more sensible and mature than to keep slamming a small set up through any social media channel they can think of.
I bet the CIMB people are just thanking their lucky stars that they have made the right choice in firing a mother of an agency that has obviously fallen from its grace.
congrats to mg. they have just shown us how 2 discarded employees can make it big.
Er, they never said the mothership was ‘evil’. You agency folk should learn to read!