ASIA-PACIFIC – SEPTEMBER 16, 2011: McCann WorldGroup has confirmed that Berndt Soderbom, formerly Leo Burnett Indonesia and Kreasindo CEO, will be joining McCann WorldGroup Indonesia to step into the newly created post of President Director from October 3, 2011.
Swedish by birth, Soderbom is a highly awarded creative with over 50 prizes under his belt and has over 25 years of experience in Asia. He is the founder-owner of one of Indonesia’s most prestigious independent integrated agencies – Kreasindo, once Indonesia’s third largest agency, with three consecutive ‘Agency of the Year’ awards. It was also consistently rated as the country’s most awarded agency for creativity and effectiveness between 1997 to 2004.
A recipient of ASEAN’s Asian Development Award, Soderbom successfully led the agency through the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s with strong crisis-management initiatives for change at a time when only 20% of all acclaimed ad agencies survived.
In 2000, Soderbom sold Kreasindo to Leo Burnett Worldwide and it became Leo Burnett/Kreasindo. He remained as CEO until 2004.
In his new post at McCann Worldgroup, Soderbom will be returning to the Indonesian advertising industry after a six-year hiatus that saw him running his own retail business while consulting for major international brands in their marketing efforts across Europe and SEA.
Charles Cadell, Managing Director McCann Worldgroup SEA , Australia and New Zealand said of the Soderbom’s appointmen: “The appointment of Berndt is very positive for McCann Worldgroup and is a further illustration of the positive transformation our agency is undertaking both in Indonesia and across the globe. Building on the great work that has already begun in Indonesia, Berndt will be working with the team there to ensure that McCann Worldgroup remains focused on delivering marketing solutions that transform brands and grow businesses.”
Speaking of his new role Soderbom explained, “Indonesia is a market increasingly recognized as one of the new economic powerhouses and so has enormous potential. Having lived and worked in Jakarta for many years before I have great respect and admiration for the country and so am delighted to be returning here to once more. I see McCann Worldgroup’s transformation as a chance to develop a truly integrated communication company that is ready to service the increasingly sophisticated Indonesian client community, and through this the agency will very soon become a one of the leading agencies in Indonesia.”
This development comes on the back of some recent new business wins for McCann Worldgroup including international aggregate products company Lafarge Cement and Indonesia’s major telecom businesses Smartfen.
McCann Worldgroup Managing Director Michelle Ong will initially report to and work alongside Berndt Soderbom until December of this year when, having resigned from her post for family reasons, Ong will be returning to her home country of Malaysia.
