Grey Expands Roles of Irene Wong and Graham Drew to include Singapore

Irene Wong (CEO Grey Malaysia) and Graham Drew (CCO Grey Malaysia) will be taking on full commercial and creative responsibility across the Malaysia and Singapore studios. The move comes after several years of strong performance for Grey Malaysia and is the latest example of Grey’s ‘borderless’ philosophy.

Grey Singapore will join Grey Malaysia to become one unit under the new joint leadership structure. After eight years at Grey Singapore and thirty years in the industry, Konstantin Popovic will leave the agency at the end of the year to refocus his career on his deep passion for sustainability. Wong and Popovic and their respective leadership teams will work closely over the next three months to ensure a seamless transition

As CEO of Grey Malaysia & Singapore and CCO of Grey Malaysia & Singapore, Wong and Drew will have equal responsibility across the two offices, taking full advantage of the greater pool of resources and talent.

Says Irene Wong, “This is such an exciting opportunity for us and the teams and a chance for synergy. The truth is every studio has things that they are great and not so great at, being able to fill each other’s gaps and becoming a stronger unit across the board is what this is all about.”

Adds Graham Drew, “One of the better things we learnt over the past few years is that utilising talent shouldn’t be dependent on geography. Exposing the Singapore team to the creative talent of Malaysia and vice versa will be inspirational on all fronts and will be reflected in the work”.

Says Konstantin Popovic, “The planet needs all the help it can get, so creating a positive impact will be my mission for the next 30 years,”.

As the leadership team, Wong and Drew have nurtured internal talent and built the Malaysia office to new heights. In 2020 they led their team to its first-ever Creative Agency of the Year title three times – including winning the top spot at Spikes Asia. The unprecedented wins continued in 2021, with the Grey Malaysia creative team taking the top 5 spots in the individual creative rankings.

A high-profile member of the Malaysian ad scene, Wong previously held posts at Leo Burnett and Naga DDB before coming to Grey. Rising to CEO in 2015, she honed her craft by working on a balance of both local and multinational brands such as Telekom Malaysia, Ministry of Finance, The National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme, SEA Games 2017, P&G, Lenovo, Volvo, HSBC, Hong Leong Bank and Coway. Under her stewardship, the business has continued to grow year-on-year, with a healthy and stable mix of local and international clients.

Originally from the UK, Drew arrived at Grey in 2014 and is widely recognised for shaping the creative reputation of the Malaysia studio. As CCO, he has led the team to unparalleled creative success and noteworthy pitch wins, including Carlsberg, Tesco, Telekom Malaysia and WWF. His work has also won at all the major international award shows, such as; Cannes Lions, D&AD, One Show, Effie, Adfest, AdStars, and Spikes Asia. In 2020, Drew was named Campaign Asia’s Creative Person of the Year for Southeast Asia.

Over the past four years, he has successfully led borderless work across the network for clients such as SK-II, Enfagrow, Hong Kong Tourism Board and multiple projects as Global ECD for Carlsberg. Drew is also the Chairman of the APAC Creative Council and a member of the Grey Global Creative Board.

Nirvik Singh (Global COO & president international, Grey Group) said, “Irene is an astute leader and her ability to create, build and inspire teams are unmatched. As we turn the page to a new chapter for Grey Singapore, I can think of no one better suited to take the reins. She will build on the strong foundation of our network and drive lasting value for clients in today’s disruptive market environment.

Graham’s work shapes culture. He has been instrumental in taking Grey’s creativity to a global level. He’s a natural storyteller whose energy and expertise are great motivators, and his multi-award-winning campaigns will be discussed for many years. He avails every opportunity and is always ready to make the next ground-breaking, ‘famously effective’ work for our clients.

I also want to thank Konstantin and wish him great success in all his future endeavours.”

This article was first published on Little Black Book

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