Star Media Group picks Havas' Andreas Vogiatzakis as new group CEO
Media conglomerate Star Media Group Berhad has picked Andreas Vogiatzakis, the former chief executive of Havas Malaysia, as its new group chief executive officer.
The role was initially offered to Wong Eng Teng, chief operations officer at Prudential Malaysia, who turned it down.
The appointment marks the end of a six-month-long search by the Group, which runs the English newspaper with the largest circulation in Malaysia, for a new chief executive after Wong Chun Wai announced his retirement as chief executive at the start of the year.
The role was initially offered to Wong Eng Teng, chief operations officer at Prudential Malaysia, who turned it down.
Vogiatzakis has worked in Asia for more than two decades after leaving Greece in 1997 where his first senior leadership roles was managing director of Publicis-owned Starcom Mediavest in Japan, before leading WPP’s Mindshare Taiwan, Omnicom Malaysia and Havas Malaysia as chief executive.
“The group’s board is confident that Andreas ’ past performance record and vast local and regional experience in the media industry would enable him to lead the management team in implementing its transformation plans,” said Datuk Fu Ah Kiow, the chairman of Star Media Group (SMG).
“The board and the management will give him full support and cooperation to introduce more innovative changes to bring SMG to greater heights.”
Vogiatzakis added: “I am humbled, privileged and excited to serve the Star Media Group, a media powerhouse and an institution that has shaped, in so many ways, the culture, the history, and the DNA of a country that I call home, Malaysia.”
“Amidst a challenging and ever-changing media landscape, where the consumer is in charge and content is the catalyst of meaningful engagement, the Star Media Group is poised and determined to win the battles and sail through the industry's troubled waters into success.”