UNCANNY creative co-founder exits agency

Multi-disciplinary creative and production company UNCANNY's Qi Hao Shum (pictured) is leaving the agency after four years as creative co-founder.

Speaking to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, Shum said the decision was mutual and that it was the right time to begin a new chapter. 

Reflecting on his time at UNCANNY, Shum said he was most proud of the agency's journey rather than any single campaign. Among its milestones were securing Dyson's regional partnership and retaining the account for two consecutive years, winning the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) account, and delivering global campaigns for brands such as Evian.

"More than anything, I'm grateful to have been part of building UNCANNY and growing the team over the last four years," said Shum. 

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The departure was first announced in a LinkedIn post, where Shum reflected on the agency's early days, saying UNCANNY began with "three MacBooks and belief" before growing into a team he was "genuinely proud of".

He said the agency had built "a space where people could do their best work", won pitches and helped "put a Singapore indie on the map".

"Above all, I'll remember the people. The team who showed up. The clients who believed in us. The collaborators who made it real," Shum wrote, adding that the experience had taught him more than he "could have learned anywhere else".

UNCANNY co-founder Chin Han Yu told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE the departure was amicable and mutually agreed.

"Shum served as creative co-founder at UNCANNY for four years. His departure is an amicable, mutually agreed one as he moves on to his next chapter, and he leaves with our gratitude and full support," Yu said. "Over that time, he helped shape our creative work and build the team and award-winning standards we're proud of today. We wish him every success in what's next."

Han added that the agency would share more about its future team structure in due course.

Prior to UNCANNY, Shum was a senior creative at Forsman & Bodenfors and an associate creative director at DDB Group Singapore. He began his career at Leo Burnett and has also held roles at Grey and BBDO/Proximity Singapore.

Shum's exit comes as UNCANNY continues to expand its regional footprint. The agency recently entered the Malaysian market after being appointed creative agency partner for Astro Media Solutions, the advertising and media sales arm of Astro Malaysia, following a competitive RFP.

Under the partnership, UNCANNY is leading marketing and communications across Astro's media ecosystem, supported by its AI-powered production suite, UNCANNY Valley. The agency has also been building an AI-powered production hub in Malaysia over the past 12 months, signalling a deeper push into AI-driven creative production across the region.

His departure also comes amid a series of creative leadership movements in Singapore’s agency scene. Creative veteran Thomas Yang recently exited DDB Group Singapore after more than 16 years with the agency network to join Leo Singapore as senior creative director and head of art, reporting to group executive director Asheen Naidu.

Yang, who most recently served as DDB’s executive creative director and head of art and design, said he was excited to join Leo Singapore to create work that puts “Singapore creativity firmly on the global stage again”.

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