The Clan nabs McCann talent as new ECD to beef up creativity

The Clan Malaysia has appointed its new executive creative director, Yow Kuan Wai. Yow will be reporting to Casey Loh, The Clan’s creative chief. Yow has worked with brands such as Citibank, Cadbury, Nike, Honda, Nestlé, L’Oréal, Nissan, Oreo, Celcom, Nivea, and Cathay Pacific. According to his LinkedIn, Yow worked at McCann Erickson from 2016 before joining The Clan. He also worked at FCB KL from 2010 to 2016, before which he was a senior copywriter at Publicis Communications from 2004 to 2010.

Yow will be working closely with senior leadership, Casey Loh and Syed Nasir, as well as The Clan’s newly hired general manager, Sandra Heung, to make The Clan a destination for both industry talents as well as a credible institution for potential clients.

Yow told A+M in an interview that he joined The Clan in the midst of its transformation, both from its creative culture to its business model . “It’s smart and fresh. And it’s cool to be at ground zero of all this,” he added. With creativity playing a critical role in his job, Yow shared that passion, clarity of thought, a sense of curiosity make for great creativity in this day and age. According to him, these are timeless qualities that are needed now more than ever, especially with the saturated market of content creation.

Regarding plans for the agency in 2023, Yow said that his focus is to elevate the work done while ensuring that its people are looked after. Having spent his career in international network agencies, which he said was a rewarding experience, evolution of the industry’s workings take time to materialise. “Whether it’s hesitation to embrace new ways of thinking, this inertia can impede good work.” Independent agencies like The Clan, he finds, offer agility and flexibility.

Creative chief, Loh said that Yow is the kind of creative who contemplates every possible angle on a client’s brief before committing words to visuals. “With him at the helm of the creative unit at Clan, we’re confident that the young talents we have here will have the guidance they need to flourish and continue to do good, honest, well thought out work for our clients and brands,” he added.

The Clan also recently hired its new general manager, Sandra Heung, who takes the helm after almost six years in the business. Heung will be reporting to The Clan’s business chief, Syed Nasir. Heung said that the focus is on the growth of her fellow Clanmates, both in thinking and creative excellence which will then benefit the clients. “Retaining existing clients is definitely key as well - we are determined to provide more innovative solutions to help grow their businesses further based on their KPIs,” she added. Heung also shared the importance placed on expanding the ventures of its own brands, Green Streets and Sembilan Langkawi in the agriculture and hospitality industries respectively.