Ogilvy and Mather Greater China chief executive Shenan Chuang (莊淑芬) is set to become Taipei deputy mayor on Feb. 4, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) has confirmed, adding that Chuang would be tasked with supervising two international events the capital is to host in 2016 and 2017.
Chuang would also serve as another channel through which Ko can understand China better, because she has long been based on the other side of the Taiwan Strait, Ko said during an interview with online media outlet ETToday on Friday.
Ko said he was first advised to recruit Chuang to lead the Department of Cultural Affairs, but he thought she was over-qualified for the position.
After an interview with Chuang, Ko said he invited her to be his third deputy mayor, but she did not accept the offer, because it would have been “quite a big sacrifice” to leave what she has achieved in China behind to work for the city government.
One reason he appointed her as deputy mayor is to utilize Chuang’s expertise and professionalism when Taipei serves as the World Design Capital in 2016 and hosts the 2017 Summer Universiade to help present the municipality to an international audience, Ko said.
According to Chuang’s profile on the Ogilvy Web site, she joined the global advertising giant in 1983 and has been based in Beijing since 2003. She now leads Ogilvy and Mather’s offices in Taiwan and China.
Chuang was named one of the top 50 most powerful women by Forbes Asia last year.
The magazine at the time said that Chuang helped revolutionize China’s advertising industry, which is now No. 3 in the world and is expected to move up a notch and exceed US$50 billion in revenue next year.
The city government has three deputy mayor posts; Teng Chia-chi (鄧家基) and Charles Lin (林欽榮) took office when new officials were sworn in on Thursday.
Ko appointed Teng, of the New Party, as his first deputy mayor in his first appointment because he had served two terms on the city council and is on good terms with the pan-blue camp.
Ko said it took him just 30 seconds to decide to appoint Teng.
“The appointment would help reassure the pan-blue camp,” Ko said.
The role Teng plays in his team is like a brake in a vehicle, because he is stable and consistent, while Lin — who Ko described as strong — is like the engine, Ko said.
“Their personalities complement each other,” Ko added.
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