BBDO Guerrero/Proximity Philippines hires RKCR/Y&R London’s Tony Harris as CEO

 PHILIPPINES – MARCH 16, 2011 – BBDO Guerrero/Proximity Philippines has hired Tony Harris, the Deputy Chairman of RKCR/Y&R in London as its new Chief Executive Officer, filling the position vacated by Paul Roebuck in January.

Harris, 44, has an impressive track record in the UK. He joined Publicis London from university and moved on to BMP DDB, where over a period of less than five years he rose to the level of board director. For the past 12 years he has played a key role of the outstanding success of RKCR Y&R. During this time the agency has grown to be the third largest in the UK and the most successful British creative agency in the 2010 global Gunn Report.

Tony has worked on a wealth of international and domestic clients; helping develop acclaimed work for Virgin, Lloyds TSB Bank, Danone, Budweiser, Xerox and most notably for the UK Government. Aside from regularly featuring in Campaign’s ‘Most influential’ list he was, just a few weeks ago, named by the magazine as one of London’s top 10 account men.

BBDO Guerrero/Proximity Philippines is the country’s ‘4As Agency of the Year,’ a title it has held for three years running. It is also one of the
largest agencies in Manila, whose clients include Pepsi, FedEx, Johnson & Johnson and Fonterra.

"For many people, it’s a long long way from what I know, from where I’ve grown up and yet it’s possibly the most exciting thing I’ve ever done in my life," Tony told adobo candidly. "I came over, met David and the rest of the management of the agency and I fell in love with the place. I fell in love with the city, with the culture, with the people."

"I’m a big believer in what David wants to do in terms of taking the agency on to the next level," he continued. "Undoubtedly it’s the people who work there and David himself and the client list that they have that’s drawn me to the agency."

Harris is excited to move to Manila, which he describes as "full of great ideas", and has ambitious goals for BBDO Guerrero. "For the first time ever, the whole world is on the same level in terms of technology, in terms of what they can achieve, in terms of their understanding of communication opportunities," he said. "There is no reason that I can see that the agency I’m very much looking forward to working with can’t be seen as one of the very best beacons, not just within the region or the culture but throughout the world. And I would hope that we can go some way, to starting that process to happen."

David Guerrero, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of BBDO Guerrero / Proximity Philippines said, “We want to push for the best work in the
world. And to do that we need the top-level thinking that Tony can bring to the agency. His experience and track record leave us in no doubt that this will be a fantastically productive partnership. And the entire team is thrilled that he’s coming on board.”

Chris Thomas, the Chairman and CEO of BBDO/Proximity Asia Pacific stated, “we are fortunate in BBDO to have great creative offices throughout the region but undoubtedly our office in the Philippines is one of our real jewels. We are delighted that Tony has seen the opportunity that the team in Manila is creating and he will bring further expertise to an already highly-respected line-up.”