Publicis Groupe Hong Kong has appointed Rhys Turner as its inaugural Head of Creative Technology.
Originally from Australia, Turner has spent 20 years working at the intersection of emerging technologies and creative practice, exploring synergies between art and engineering. With experience across agency, client and production, he has worked on projects all over the world from Saudi Arabia to Istanbul and Shanghai.
He began his career teaching electronic media before gravitating towards interactive and digital advertising, dabbling in everything from video game and app development to UX, coding and experiential design. In 2023, Turner left design and technology company T&DA, based in Sydney, to join Chanel in Hong Kong as Innovation Technologist APAC.
At Publicis Groupe Hong Kong, Turner will have a dual focus: he will work closely with creative teams to deliver transformative work for clients; while harnessing the power of AI and scaling innovation across the Groupe.
“Rhys is here to supercharge our fluency in data, tech, AI and more. We’re not just looking to Rhys to create innovative commercial solutions for our clients, but to apply his love for art and code as well as his curiosity to always make things smarter across all disciplines at Publicis Groupe in Hong Kong,” says Christopher Lee, Chief Creative Officer at Publicis Groupe Hong Kong.
Turner adds: “The fun part of being a creative technologist is constantly experimenting with tools and technologies, and then acting as an informant to agencies, suggesting fresh approaches for everything from strategy to ideation and execution. Publicis Groupe Hong Kong is enjoying huge momentum, and I’m excited to be part of its evolution.”
In his new role, Turner will report to Christopher Lee, Chief Creative Officer at Publicis Groupe Hong Kong; and Tom Kao, Chief Executive Officer at Publicis Groupe Hong Kong.
He also joins Publicis Groupe APAC’s Creative Tech Collective: a community of 20+ creative technologists and approximately 200 innovation specialists from around the region, led by Laurent Thevenet, Head of Creative Technology, APAC.
“We look forward to the impact that Rhys will bring, pushing cutting-edge tech and AI-led creativity and amplifying the chemistry between creative, media, data, tech, and production. Creative tech is becoming more than just a discipline that drives creative campaigns – it’s also becoming the glue that connects people from various backgrounds to help shape talent in this age of AI, with the ambition to keep raising the bar,” says Tom Kao, Chief Executive Officer, Publicis Groupe Hong Kong.
Turner’s role is effective immediately.
