Ian McKee exits Vocanic

Two years after GroupM completed the majority acquisition of social media firm Vocanic, its CEO Ian McKee has stepped down.According to an internal memo seen by Marketing, McKee is currently on "gardening leave with immediate effect" and a new regional lead for the agency will be announced soon.In the interim, Puneet Arora, CEO of GroupM Singapore will provide regional leadership. He will also be supported by Girish Menon, CEO of GroupM Malaysia; Ed Thesiger , CEO of GroupM Vietnam & Indonesia; and Kevin Clark, CEO of GroupM Thailand and Myanmar.Mark Patterson, GroupM CEO of Asia Pacific and chairman of GroupM China, said in an official statement: “McKee has spearheaded the integration of the business into GroupM and we of course thank him for managing that process and the development of the business across that period. He will hand the baton to another leader in due course, and he moves on to his next challenge with our best wishes and thanks.”Since its acquisition, the agency has worked closely with Mindshare, MEC, MediaCom and Maxus across markets such as Singapore, Malaysia and  Thailand. However, it has in recent times seen several senior departures. Most recently, Liam McCance, country manager and partner of Vocanic Thailand and Malaysia exited the role after over three years in the company.Last year,  Marketing reported the departure of Stephen Thirgood, general manager of Vocanic Singapore along with client services (social & digital) director Kristian Olsen, Kimberley Olsen, business development director (social media), Ivan Ng, regional head of creative at Vocanic and Kelly Han, head of engagement services.