Evill to leave DDB

Hong Kong - Tim Evill, MD of global clients at DDB, will leave the agency in mid-December after 12 years of service with the Omnicom Group.

Evill, former president & CEO of the Hong Kong agency, said his decision to leave was in part related to his shift from president & CEO to MD of global clients.

He said the agency could not fully determine what his role within DDB should include. But he stressed the split was amicable.

"It was actually a good role for me, but it was also a good time to make a break. In the end I sat down and though is this really what I want to do, the answer was no. It's better to do it now than to wait five years, " he said.

Evill said Hong Kong had been a tough market for DDB, after some senior management woes. He said there was still a "long way to go" for DDB, but that Richard Thomas was in a good position.

"I'm sure Thomas will do a good job, the agency needed a young man to kick some asses."

Evill added he was reviewing his options around the region and said for now he would remain in Hong Kong, but he said he was not about to jump ship to a competitor.

Instead, he may look at options outside the traditional agency model and hinted a China-based brand building or media neutral offering could be on the cards.

"There's big brand-building opportunities there. Hong Kong is an old fashion market, there's huge opportunities for smaller agencies to rise up. The big behemoth's here need to agile up."