Valerie Madon has officially stepped down from her role as Chief Creative Officer for Asia Pacific and Singapore at McCann Worldgroup, marking a significant leadership change within the agency as the Omnicom-IPG merger continues to reshape global creative networks. Her departure reflects broader structural adjustments across the region, with creative leadership now integrated into McCann Singapore’s operational model under Daniel Kee, supported by Omnicom Advertising talent where appropriate.
Madon, one of Asia-Pacific’s most respected creative leaders, joined McCann Worldgroup in May 2023 from Meta, where she served as Director of Creative Shop for Southeast Asia and Emerging Markets—her second tenure at the company. Prior to that, she held senior creative leadership positions including CCO of VMLY&R Asia, Havas Group Chairwoman for Singapore and CCO for Southeast Asia, Global ECD for Shell Lubricants, and CCO Singapore at JWT, along with key ECD roles at Publicis Singapore and Leo Burnett Singapore.
During her time at McCann, Madon oversaw APAC creative work for major brands including Mastercard and Ferrero. Drawing on her experience at Meta, she strengthened McCann Content Studios APAC by combining data-driven insights with platform-led creativity, securing social-first campaigns for brands such as L’Oréal Thailand and Chick-fil-A Singapore. She also championed creative development in the region through initiatives like the Ambition Collective, a program designed to train and showcase emerging APAC talent, and Shape My Portfolio (launched in 2024), a mentorship platform providing one-on-one portfolio reviews from industry leaders.
Under Madon’s leadership, McCann Worldgroup rose to become a Top 5 Cannes Network in APAC in 2024 and climbed from below the Top 20 to Top 5 in Campaign Brief’s The Work Rankings in 2025. She was recognized as Creative Leader of the Year by Creativepool, surpassing over 100 global leaders, and was awarded Creative Captain at the 2025 Campaign Women Leading Change Awards.
Reflecting on her tenure, Madon highlighted the enduring value of human creativity in an increasingly AI-driven world, expressing gratitude toward the clients and teams she collaborated with while sharing excitement for future creative endeavors.
Her departure comes as McCann Singapore and MullenLowe Singapore prepare to merge under the leadership of CEO Paul Soon, formerly CEO of MullenLowe Singapore, and ECD Daniel Kee. Gonzalo Olivera, previously Managing Partner at MullenLowe Singapore, will become president of the merged agency from January 1, 2026. Brandon Cheung, CEO of McCann Singapore and Southeast Asia, will support the transition into early 2026.
This leadership shift is part of the wider Omnicom-IPG consolidation, which is streamlining global operations and consolidating longstanding agency brands—including DDB, FCB, and MullenLowe—into three global creative networks: BBDO, McCann, and TBWA. Despite these changes, the leadership structure for TBWA in Greater China, Singapore, and Malaysia remains unchanged, while additional regional leadership roles are expected to be announced in January 2026.
