Shenan Chuang is the CEO of Ogilvy & Mather Greater China, and co-founder and current chair of the China 4A — Association of Accredited
Advertising Agencies of China. Her other accomplishments include being
named among the Most Influential Female Business Leaders in 2010 by Mulan in Business/China Entrepreneur.
Under her leadership the Ogilvy & Mather Beijing office was awarded
“Office of the Year” and she was awarded “Agency Head of the Year” by
Media magazine in 2006 – which in the growth boom of China is an accomplishment she can be proud of. In an industry dominated by men at the top, Chuang has brought her distinctly feminine style to the role, one she admits has been a huge challenge but also rewarding.
Of managing creatives she says “I encourage people. I don’t want to set a lot of rules – like ‘you need
to follow this otherwise you get penalized.’ I don’t think it would work
for creative people. Sometimes you’ve got to be very tolerant.” It’s a formula that obviously works for her.
For those women aspiring to a CEO role, Chuang says there are advantages women bring to the corner office. “I feel female CEOs probably tend to have less ego issues than males do,
because I don’t feel any shame if I ask for help. I also need to foster
collaboration and sometimes I need to be the arbitrator. But you just
cannot please everyone so I need to play tough, and even take the blame
sometimes.”
More about Chuang can be found in this China International Business article – with thanks to James Barnes for sharing this article with me via LinkedIn.