Ogilvy & Mather
Graduating in Chinese Studies and a teaching diploma in 1982, Poon See Hian veered from his expected career path. Instead, he flirted briefly in being a training coordinator, and even a housing salesman.
Even then, he still was not satisfied. In 1989, he opted for a local agency as a Chinese Copywriter. He found that his passion for language and culture was a natural fit for the creative line.
Poon was born 4th May, 1958, 60 years after the Chinese republican revolution in 1898. He is inspired by that era’s affinity towards change, although he was born and raised Malaysian Chinese instead of Chinese Chinese. And that enabled him a multi-cultural environment, cultivated in a myriad of languages and cultures.
He is the ultimate self-critic. When rejected by clients, his chagrin reaches the levels of self-loathing, hence the need to keep pushing and to keep pushing. Like a certain godfather, the light from Ogilvy headquarters at the Millennium building shines late many a night.
During the rare times he is on holiday, he enjoys both a spot of cooking and calligraphy. Poon never wanted to be a teacher, but ironically, he is teaching the younger ones how to be the best one can be.
