Ogilvy Malaysia executive group director Michelle Ong departs

Ogilvy Malaysia’s executive group director Michelle Ong has departed from her role, wrapping up a three-and-a-half-year stint at the agency since joining at the end of 2022.

A+M understands that she has retired and has reached out to Ogilvy and Ong for further comment. According to her LinkedIn profile, Ong left Ogilvy around March 2026.

With more than 30 years in the industry, Ong has built a career spanning strategy and creative brand leadership. She was previously CEO of Dentsu One Malaysia, and prior to that, chief operating officer of Leo Burnett Malaysia.

She also served as managing director at McCann Worldgroup Indonesia for a year, and spent close to eight years as general manager of McCann Erickson Malaysia. Earlier in her career, she held an account management role at Ogilvy for three years, according to her LinkedIn profile.

After leaving dentsu, Ong worked as a communications and marketing consultant for Bake With Yen Malaysia and Pavilion Kuala Lumpur.

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Her departure comes roughly five months after Ogilvy Group Malaysia announced key leadership changes in December 2025, with Irene Wong (formerly CEO of Grey Malaysia) stepping into the role of CEO of Ogilvy Group Malaysia. In tandem, Graham Drew (previously Grey Malaysia’s chief creative officer) was appointed chief creative officer of the group.

The appointments, effective 1 January 2026, formed part of a broader strategic move to combine the strengths of Ogilvy and Grey in Malaysia, following WPP’s decision to move Grey under Ogilvy and shift its reporting line out of the AKQA Group.

At the time, Ong remained with the agency in a leadership capacity overseeing Ogilvy’s client portfolio. Ogilvy Group ASEAN operations are currently overseen by CEO Kunal Jeswani.

Ong’s exit comes amid a series of leadership movements within Ogilvy Malaysia over the past year. In July 2025, Ogilvy Malaysia chief creative officer Adrian Miller departed the agency after six years. He initially joined Ogilvy as chief creative officer of Indonesia in 2018 before being appointed to lead the Malaysian market in January 2022. Ogilvy confirmed his departure but did not disclose the reason.

In August 2025, former Ogilvy Malaysia executive creative director Jaz Lee rejoined Leo Burnett as executive creative director of Leo Constellation, Southeast Asia, with a regional remit focused on Samsung.

Lee previously told A+M that his role involves elevating creative quality and consistency across Samsung’s Southeast Asia marketing efforts. He reports to Emir Shafri, chief creative officer of Publicis Groupe Malaysia, and Paolo Garcia, chief creative officer of Publicis Groupe Vietnam.

Meanwhile, across the Causeway, Ogilvy Group Singapore appointed Shirley Tay as its new chief executive officer, effective 1 January 2026.

In her role, Tay oversees the streamlined operations of the group’s agency brands in Singapore, including Ogilvy Singapore and Grey Singapore, while maintaining their distinct identities and client portfolios. She also works across both agencies to leverage their combined capabilities.

Mid-last year, WPP moved Grey under Ogilvy, shifting its reporting structure away from the AKQA Group. The move was aimed at strengthening collaboration and unlocking growth opportunities across the network, according to internal memos obtained by A+M.

The decision was made ahead of AKQA’s anticipated appointment of a new global CEO, prompting leadership teams across Grey, AKQA, Ogilvy and WPP to review reporting lines. Under the new structure, Grey global CEO Laura Maness reports directly to Ogilvy global CEO Devika Bulchandani.

The memo noted that Grey’s realignment reflects its creative resurgence and profitable growth trajectory, while AKQA continues to expand its innovation, design and technology capabilities.

Grey will continue to operate as a standalone brand within the Ogilvy network, with existing collaborations between Grey and AKQA remaining in place.

Related articles: 
WPP moves Grey under Ogilvy in creative agency shakeup
Ogilvy Malaysia appoints Grey execs as new group CEO and CCO 
Ogilvy Malaysia CCO Adrian Miller departs after six years