Andrew Lee re-elected to unprecedented fourth consecutive term as President at 4As

Front row (from left): Leow Men Lih (M&C Saatchi), Joyce Gan (Fishermen Integrated), Ryusuke Oda (Vice President, 4As and MD, Hakuhodo), Andrew Lee (President, 4As  and Group MD Havas Group), Yee Hui Tsin (TBWA KL), Milan Agnihotri (Dentsu). Back row (from left): Clarence Koh (Naga DDB Tribal), Khairudin Rahim (4As), Sean Lim (Geometry Global), Dato’ Johnny Mun (Oxygen Advertising), Marcus S.K (Grey Worldwide), Adrian Loh (Shinaji), LV Chong (Monster Interactive).

The Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Malaysia (4As) recently held its 16^th Biennial General Meeting, with an election to determine its Council office bearers who will serve the not-for-profit industry body for the next two years.

Mr Andrew Lee, Group Managing Director of Havas Group Malaysia, was re-elected as the President for an unprecedented fourth consecutive term, whilst Mr Ryusuke Oda, Managing Director of Hakuhodo Malaysia was elected as the new Vice President.

“I feel honoured to have been asked to lead the 4As Council once again, and to have the opportunity to continue the legacy of earlier leaders including the late Dato Tony Lee, Tony Savarimuthu, and 4As Honorary Life President Tan Sri Vincent Lee,” said Mr Lee.

“I also look forward to furthering the ground-breaking steps taken in the all-important area of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) that the previous council had begun.

Other challenges ahead of us include the continuing post-pandemic recovery, understanding and co-opting new technologies such as AI and its subset ChatGPT, and more prosaic challenges like staff retention and continuous professional development,” Mr Lee added.

The election also saw the induction of Council members from the following companies:

1. Dentsu Malaysia
2. Fishermen Integrated
3. Geometry Global
4. Grey Worldwide
5. M&C Saatchi
6. Monster Interactive
7. NagaDDB
8. Oxygen Advertising
9. Shinajii
10. TBWA Kuala Lumpur

Both Mr Lee and Mr Oda will work jointly with the Council members as well as Dato’ Johnny Mun, Managing Director of Oxygen Advertising and 4As Senior Advisor, and En. Khairudin Rahim, 4As Chief Executive Officer, to accomplish the Association’s objectives.

“In the past two years, we have seen the full resumption of our highly-coveted Awards including the Effie Awards, Kancil Awards, Putra Brand Awards, and the introduction of the Putra Aria Brand Awards.

There has also been a return to in-person training courses conducted with our long-standing training partner Chartered Institute of Practitioners in Advertising UK (IPA).

The 4As has also continued our advocacy to defend the industry against unscrupulous and unfair pitch and tender practices by certain companies,” said Mr Lee.

“This work is part and parcel of the role that the 4As plays in the advertising industry, and we will continue to pursue our five primary goals which are providing industry guidance and leadership; raising industry standards and professionalism; fostering continuous professional development for the attraction and retention of agency talent; promoting commercial creativity and its effectiveness; and serving as the government’s principal information source and advisor on advertising,” Mr Lee concluded.