Former Dentsu Creative APAC CEO joins Bastion Agency
Marketing and comms agency Bastion has appointed former Dentsu Creative APAC CEO, Cheuk Chiang, as its new CEO for Australia and New Zealand.
In his new role, Chiang will be responsible for driving business expansion and have operational and P&L responsibilities across Bastion’s ANZ business.
(L-R): Jack Watts and Cheuk Chiang
He joins after 18 months at Dentsu Creative as APAC CEO, where he was among the pre-Christmas redundancies last year.
“We’ve been in business almost 15 years and it’s a thrill to bring in someone of Cheuk’s calibre to lead our business across ANZ. It’s a testament to the quality of our people, the trust our clients’ place in our abilities and the fearless approach we have taken to building this agency over the years We’ve got 300+ people across 7 offices in ANZ and it’s critical now that we have someone leading the business working day in day out to solve our clients biggest problems,” said Jack Watts, Bastion Group CEO.
“Cheuk’s appointment represents a major investment in our next phase of growth. We’re the biggest independent, but we want to be the best Agency in the region, period. We’ve continually reinvested in our business, our people and our clients over the years and this is the next step on that journey. Some people ask me ‘when are you guys going to slow down’, but personally, I don’t think we’re going fast enough.”
Chiang said he was impressed with Bastion’s capabilities after spending some time with the agency’s key leaders, talent and clients.
“In a world where clients are struggling to survive and thrive against challenging market forces, they need help to not only better compete but also gain competitive advantage,” he explained.
“Few agency groups can help them do this with the strength of integrated capabilities that Bastion has,” he continued. “Leveraging Bastion’s well stitched together offering and “one stop shop” to help put clients in a position of strength as well as the ability to deliver industry leading innovation got me very excited.”
Chiang – whose career has been deeply rooted in innovation, creative, media, data, and technology – will lead the agency through its next phase of growth.
Extensive further growth is planned in areas such as media, AI, digital consulting, customer experience, ecommerce, as well as expansion into the Asia-Pacific region.
“The world is changing, and our clients need a partner who can put them in a position of strength to meet these changes head on. We need to constantly evolve and be a better business every day for our people and clients, and in some way the industry,” Watts continued.
“We operate in a brilliant industry. We exist at the intersection between our clients and growth. That’s a seriously good place to be and we need to celebrate and revere that. That’s what we loved about Cheuk through what was an extensive process to appoint this role. He’s an evangelist for this industry and our transformative role in the world. We grow businesses, and I’ve never met a CEO or CMO who didn’t think that was a good idea.”
The appointment comes a month after Bastion’s acquisition of digital creative agency AnalogFolk Australia. The acquisition will enhance Bastion’s comprehensive digital and creative capabilities, and assist the agency with a more progressive approach to brand building, advertising, PR and more.
“Our vision is to not just be the biggest independent agency in the region but the best. Welcoming AnalogFolk Australia into the Bastion family is a significant milestone on that journey and an opportunity for us together to redefine the landscape of digital marketing services,” Watts said last month.
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Lauren McNamara is a journalist at Mumbrella, covering the creative and PR beat. She joined in November 2022 as editorial assistant, after completing a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) at UTS.
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