Darren Yuen to lead OMG Malaysia, reporting to Eileen Ooi

Amidst the developments of Omnicom's group global acquisition of Interpublic Group (IPG), A+M has learned that Darren Yuen is set to be the new CEO of Omnicom Media Group (OMG) Malaysia, reporting to Eileen Ooi. 

In this latest leadership update, Ooi (pictured left), who is currently the APAC CEO for PHD, will now double hat as the executive integration lead for OMG Malaysia, alongside her new role as president of PHD APAC.

Following which, A+M has also learned that Winnie Chen-Head, CEO of OMG Malaysia, will be departing the company. 

Darren Yuen (pictured right) was most recently the CEO of IPG Mediabrands Malaysia, a role which he took on in December 2024, after Bala Pomaleh left the role to become the CEO for media at dentsu Malaysia.

Yuen is well known for his 19 years spent at Carat, as group account director, GM, and subsequently CEO. He later had a stint as group MD for Reprise Digital in 2018, before becoming the CEO of BPN Worldwide for eight and a half years, and CEO of Initiative for nearly five years.

Don't miss: Leigh Terry exits IPG Mediabrands APAC amid Omnicom–IPG integration

Chen-Head (pictured above), was the CEO of Omnicom Media Group (OMG) Malaysia since March 2025 this year, taking over the helm from Eileen Ooi who had shifted into her new role as APAC CEO of PHD at the time. Prior to that, Chen-Head was the managing director for media at dentsu Malaysia, overseeing three agency brands Carat, dentsuX, and iProspect.

She also spent two years as the head of product and growth at dentsu, leading the media function's transformation and innovation agenda. She had also been the head of iProspect for two and a half years; head of product, strategy and innovation at Mindshare for over two years; GM at Fave; and business director at MediaCom for one and a half years.
 
Meanwhile, Eileen Ooi, has been the Asia Pacific CEO for PHD for over a year since September 2024, based in Kuala Lumpur. With over 19 years of industry experience, Ooi was previously CEO at OMG Malaysia, and also COO in 2021. Prior to that, she spent four years with PHD Malaysia as its managing director and country head. She began her career in Starcom as a media planner, before spending four years at Mindshare, then shifting over to Carat and subsequently Maxus Global.

The news comes just as Leigh Terry exits his role as CEO of IPG Mediabrands APAC as the Omnicom–IPG merger triggered a major leadership consolidation across the region. Tony Harradine is set to take on responsibility for Omnicom Media across APAC following Terry’s departure.

On 1 December, Omnicom announced its restructure following the closure of its US$13.3 billion takeover deal. From the announcement, it was understood that several long-established agency brands would be retired, including DDB, FCB and MullenLowe, as part of its integration of Interpublic into a single global group.

Related articles: 
OMG Malaysia names new CEO
PHD names Eileen Ooi APAC CEO
IPG MY names Darren Yuen CEO as Bala Pomaleh departs