Burson-Marsteller Asia-Pacific CEO Bob Pickard has resigned from the firm, effective the end of the year, after nearly three years at WPP unit.
Pickard, who said he will be on “garden leave” starting next week, said in an email he is pursuing another opportunity which will be announced in the coming months. He helped build Edelman’s North Asia presence from scratch in 2005 and joined B-M in 2010.
B-M said chief client client officer and former U.S. CEO Pat Ford will take over the Asia-Pacific operation on an interim basis amid a search for a permanent replacement for Pickard. He has been based in Hong Kong for the last several months, the firm said.
B-M’s Asia-Pacific unit includes 19 offices across Japan, China and Hong Kong, South Korea, Australia, India, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. It also has 11 affiliates adding New Zealand, Pakistan, Thailand, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the Philippines.