Publicis Groupe announces three senior appointments in China

Publicis Groupe has announced the appointments of Eddi Yang (pictured right) as General Manager of MSL Beijing, Liza Zhang (pictured left), General Manager of MSL Shanghai and Kathy Zhao (pictured middle), General Manager of Publicis LifeBrands Beijing to General Manager of Publicis LifeBrands of Beijing and Shanghai.

These appointments will help strengthen Publicis Groupe China’s team integration and business cooperation in the fields of public relations and healthcare communications, in addition to strengthening the Groupe’s capabilities in these two very important professional service fields.

Yang has more than 20 years of experience in communications, marketing and corporate affairs. She is a resourceful leader with both a global mindset and local insight. Not only has she achieved great successes in branding-related business, she also has an insightful experience in digital marketing.

Prior to MSL, she served as the Director of External Affairs – Mead Johnson, China and as Vice President and General Manager – Golin Harris in Beijing. She has also held management positions in several global leading organizations such as Ketchum, Ruderfin and Ogilvy.

Yang will be based in Beijing and report to Oliver Xu, CEO of Publics Communications Beijing. She will also report to Margaret Key, CEO – APAC & MEA, MSL.

Zhang oversees both operations and development of Shanghai and Guangzhou markets supported by a team of 130 consultants.

Zhang’s has 15 years of experience having built core expertise in areas such as corporate branding and reputation management, business communications, internal corporate communications and change management. Her clients range widely from traditional manufactory to consumer goods, healthcare and medical services to technology companies, professional services firms and government. Previously, Liza served as Vice President in the firm’s corporate communications and was dedicated to promoting MSL’s transformation into a business-driven strategic communications consultancy.

Zhang will continue to be based in Shanghai, reporting to Arto Hampartsoumian, Managing Partner and Executive Chairman of Publicis Groupe China and Margaret Key, CEO –APAC & MEA, MSL. Mindy Yuan, General Manager of MSL Guangzhou, continues to lead MSL Guangzhou office and reports to Zhang.

Zhao comes with more than 15 years of experience in integrated communications service with an expertise in the healthcare sector. Zhao was instrumental in setting up Dreams Communication, a professional healthcare communications agency in China in 2001. She has been in her leading role in Publicis LifeBrands China in Beijing since Dreams Communication acquired by the Publicis Healthcare Communications Group (PHCG) and renamed as Publicis LifeBrands China.

Under Zhao’s leadership, Publicis LifeBrands China has continued to provide its service to some of the leading pharmaceuticals companies such as GSK, Pfizer, Xi’an Janssen, Novo Nordisk and MSD. She also gained a good reputation in service and long-term customer cooperation in the industry for many years.

Zhao will be based in Beijing and report directly to Arto Hampartsoumian, Managing Partner and Executive Chairman of Publicis Groupe China.

Arto Hampartsoumian, Managing Partner and Executive Chairman, Publicis Groupe, China said: “Publicis LifeBrands and MSL are professional communication service organizations under Publicis Groupe and an important part of the comprehensive service capabilities of Power of One approach. As global public health communication faces great challenges, especially in 2020, the importance of health communication and public relations is increasing day by day. Kathy Zhao, Liza Zhang and Eddi Yang are three outstanding leaders with years of experience in their own fields. They are deeply trusted and respected by clients and I believe we can strengthen our professional service capabilities in both fields under their leadership.”