New York - Chris Foster has been appointed Chairman and Regional CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi Asia Pacific, effective 01 June, headquartered in Singapore.
For the past three years Foster has been CEO of Fallon, Minneapolis, leading a highly successful turnaround of the agency's operations.
Making the announcement, Kevin Roberts, CEO Worldwide of Saatchi & Saatchi, said that Chris Foster was an outstanding leader for the Asia Pacific region, having had previous roles in the region for Saatchi & Saatchi 1998-2005 in Hong Kong and Tokyo.
"Chris is an inspirational leader," says Roberts. "His return to Asia Pacific is good news for clients and for our people. He is a world-class brand navigator with very successful US experience to add to his previous decade in Asia."
Roberts says that Foster's region - which excludes China - has one third of the world's population, over two billion people. "Serving the everyday needs of these peoples is a serious business and Chris is our natural leader for this region."
Canadian-born Foster, 46, has been Saatchi & Saatchi's CEO in Japan, Korea, and Hong Kong, GM of international accounts in Asia Pacific, and Global Equity Director for the agency's client Procter & Gamble where he led a team of more than 400 overseeing the P&G laundry and home care business globally, including brands such as Ariel, Cascade, Dash, Ajax, and the flagship brand, Tide.
Foster's region includes 13 nations: India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Japan, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Korea, Malaysia, Australia, Sri Lanka, Singapore, and New Zealand.
"Chris will work hip-to-hip with our Chairman and Regional CEO of Greater China, Justin Billingsley, to drive growth throughout the region and create a united team that serves half the world's people."