Cannes 2012 announces global Ogilvy & Mather Creative head as jury head for Film and Press categories

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has announced Tham Khai Meng, Worldwide Chief Creative Officer of Ogilvy & Mather, as the head of both the Film and Press Juries for the 2012 edition of the biggest festival of advertising held annually in France.

Most famous for his work done on Singapore Airlines while he was at Batey Ads, he has had successful stints at Leo Burnett London, before joining Ogilvy & Mather in 2000 as Regional Creative Director and Co-Chairman of its Asia Pacific network.

He moved to New York in 2009 as the Worldwide Chief Creative Officer and Chairman of the Worldwide Creative Council at Ogilvy & Mather. He has had a much awarded stint and his work spreads across brands that include American Express, Cadbury's, Coca-Cola, China Mobile, H. J. Heinz, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Kraft Foods, Mercedes-Benz, McDonald's, Toyota, The Economist, Unilever Dove and United Nations, among others.

Interestingly he has had stints with non-corporate entities as well - like the World Economic Forum (WEF), the UN Secretary-General, and served on the Singapore Prime Minister's Economic Review Committee. According to Philip Thomas, CEO of Cannes Lions, “Chairing two juries is no easy task but his dedication and experience will be invaluable in both leading the juries and finding the winners.”