McCann APAC and Singapore chief creative Valerie Madon steps down

Valerie Madon has stepped down from her role as chief creative officer for Asia Pacific and Singapore at McCann Worldgroup. Going forward, creative leadership will sit fully within the Singapore model under Daniel Kee, augmented with additional Omnicom Advertising talent where appropriate, confirmed Sean Donovan, president, Omnicom Advertising Asia.

Donovan added that Madon has been "a tremendous ambassador for the agency and for creativity across the region, shaping work, teams and culture with heart and conviction. We are deeply grateful for her impact and leadership through a period of transformation."

Madon said, "The incredible clients and team I’ve worked with have reinforced how precious human creativity still is, even in an AI-driven world."

"I’m grateful for my time at McCann and am excited to see where my creative hunger and brand-building experience will take me," she added. Madon most recently served as chief creative officer for Singapore from March 2025, alongside her role as chief creative officer for APAC, which she has held since August 2023. She was also appointed chief creative officer for Southeast Asia in May 2023.

During her time at McCann, Madon was the APAC creative lead for Mastercard and Ferrero. Drawing on her experience at Meta, she has also strengthened McCann Content Studios APAC by blending data-driven insights with platform creativity, securing social-led wins for brands such as L’Oréal Thailand and Chick-fil-A Singapore.

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At McCann, Madon launched and led the ‘Ambition Collective’, an APAC programme designed to train and showcase emerging talent. She was also instrumental in the success of ‘Shape My Portfolio’, a mentorship platform she introduced in 2024 that offered aspiring creatives one-on-one portfolio reviews from industry leaders. Madon joined McCann from Meta, where she was director of creative shop for SEA and emerging markets. Before that, she was chief creative officer, Asia at VMLY&R, where she also served as global creative lead for Zespri. 

Her earlier roles include SEA chief creative officer at Havas, head of creative shop, SEA at Facebook, and chief creative officer at JWT Singapore, with previous stints at Publicis Modem Singapore, Leo Burnett and XM Asia Pacific.

Madon's departure comes as McCann and MullenLowe Singapore are set to combine under the leadership of Paul Soon. Soon was previously CEO of MullenLowe Singapore and will continue as the new CEO of McCann Singapore. Leading alongside Soon is Gonzalo Olivera who will become the merged organisation's new president from 1 January. Olivera was previously managing partner of MullenLowe Singapore. 

Brandon Cheung, CEO of McCann Singapore and Southeast Asia, will support the transition into early 2026. The move follows the Omnicom–IPG merger, which is streamlining roles across the new combined group and retiring several longstanding agency brands, including DDB, FCB and MullenLowe, as networks consolidate into three global creative networks: BBDO, McCann and TBWA.

Despite the consolidation across several global networks, TBWA’s leadership structure for Greater China, Singapore and Malaysia will remain unchanged following the merger. Under the current structure, Joanne Lao will continue as CEO of TBWA Greater China, Mandy Wong will remain as president of TBWA Singapore, while Yee Hui Tsin stays on as CEO of TBWA Malaysia.

In a statement to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, a spokesperson from Omnicom Advertising said its leadership structure in Asia remains unchanged due to the complementary footprint of the Omnicom Advertising and IPG creative agency brands. Some new roles will be announced in January.

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