Cannes Lions: Tham Khai Meng 2012 Film and Press Jury president

10 Jan 2012

CANNES, FRANCE: The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has announced that Tham Khai Meng, worldwide chief creative officer of Ogilvy & Mather, will head up both the Film and Press Juries at the 59th festival, taking place in Cannes, France, 17-23 June 2012.

Cannes Lions: Tham Khai Meng 2012 Film and Press Jury president

As stated by Advertising Age, Tham Khai Meng is considered 'one of the world's most influential people in the communications business'.

Making his mark at Leo Burnett London, he then progressed to Batey Ads where his work as creative director for Singapore Airlines is still regarded as a textbook case on brand building. He joined Ogilvy & Mather in 2000 as regional creative director and co-chairman of its Asia Pacific network. The creative transformation he instituted led him to be named 'Creative Director of the Year' for seven years running by Campaign Brief Asia. Khai was inducted into the Campaign Brief Hall of Fame in 2008.

In 2009, Khai moved to New York to assume the duties of worldwide chief creative officer and chairman of the worldwide creative council at Ogilvy & Mather.

Khai is reputed to have won every major advertising award, and the roster of accounts he has worked on represents a catalogue of the world's greatest brands, including American Express, Cadbury's, Coca-Cola, China Mobile, H. J. Heinz, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Kraft Foods, Mercedes-Benz, McDonald's, Toyota, The Economist, Unilever Dove and United Nations, among others.

Commenting on his appointment Khai said, "Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity is the pre-eminent standard bearer for creative distinction in our industry. I am deeply honoured to be invited to chair the Film and Press juries and I look forward to working with some of the world's foremost creatives. Our role is not only to champion industry ideals, but to celebrate the brave ones who have deployed the highest creativity in the service of business."