• by Larissa Faw , July 12, 2018

Ogilvy & Mather has terminated chief creative officer Tham Khai Meng following an internal investigation into his behavior. The specifics of the allegations were not disclosed, but Ad Age reported that agency CEO John Seifert was informed of the complaints two weeks ago.

Seifer further explained in an internal email sent to agency staffers that he "found these complaints serious enough to appoint external legal counsel to investigate the matter." 

"After carefully reviewing the investigation's findings with several of my partners, we concluded that Khai's behavior was a clear breach of our company values and code of conduct. I have decided to terminate Khai's employment with the company with immediate effect."

He emphasized to his team that "this is an important moment to reaffirm that no individual in this company is too senior or too important not to be held accountable for their actions."

Meng was seen as an industry leader, widely praised for his influence, insight and award-winning creativity. He started his career in London at Leo Burnett before joining WPP's Ogilvy & Mather Asia Pacific in 2000 as regional creative director and co-chairman. In 2009, he moved to New York to serve as the agency's worldwide CCO. 

At press time, his LinkedIn and Twitter profiles still list him as working at the agency. There is no word on whether he will retain other industry-related roles  including serving on Facebook's Creative Council, Twitter's advisory board, A100's Selection Committee and Miami's Ad Board.