Burson APAC CEO Prioritizes Culture Over Cost-Cutting in Merger Integration

Burson APAC CEO HS Chung has made cultural integration her first priority following the merger that created Burson from WPP's BCW and Hill & Knowlton, explicitly setting aside structural reorganization in favor of building a shared identity across more than 10 Asia-Pacific markets.

Chung, whose expanded regional role took effect December 1, 2025, told Marketing Connected's Agency Agenda that the first task was getting people to think differently about the new organization. "Before anything else, our priority was really to think like one. Not as two, three, four," she said.

Chung Rejects Legacy Preservation as Integration Strategy

Rather than positioning Burson as a continuation of its predecessor organizations' combined history, Chung has reframed the agency as a new entity. "We actually consider ourselves about one to two years old. We don't see ourselves as being the legacy 70-year-old," she stated.

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She also pushed back against the assumption that familiar ways of working should survive the merger. "Many people tend to wish and believe what they are used to can remain. But the reality is, we're doing all of this to create a new culture," Chung said.

Her strategy rests on three priorities: deep focus on client needs, building AI capabilities in communications, and disciplined execution. She emphasized that culture-building must be a shared effort. "Building that new culture is not something that's going to be done top down, but built together," she noted.

Global CEO Corey duBrowa cited Chung's "deep understanding of the cultural nuances across markets" as a primary reason for expanding her remit from North Asia-Pacific to the full region, including Australia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand.

APAC Agency Sector Faces Widespread Consolidation Pressure

Chung's approach runs counter to the dominant trend in the sector. Across Asia-Pacific, staff cuts from major holding company mergers are running 58% above global averages, creating significant talent disruption across the region.

The Omnicom-IPG merger, completed by late 2025, created a US$25 billion entity and is consolidating approximately 127 companies down to approximately 30. Major network brands including FCB, MullenLowe, and DDB are being retired by H1 2026. The combined entity has announced 8,200 layoffs globally, with additional cuts following.

WPP's Elevate28 restructuring, announced February 26, 2026, merges Ogilvy, VML, Grey, and AKQA into a single creative division. The move targets £500 million (approximately US$630 million) in savings by 2028, following a 3.6% revenue decline in 2025 and 9,400 global job cuts.

In India, executives have reported that added global approval layers following mergers have slowed decision-making and raised concerns around conflict of interest. Samsung India's media mandate pitch, valued at approximately ₹300 crore (approximately US$36 million), has been cited as an example of the tensions that arise when competing clients share the same holding company.

Burson Operationalizes Culture Strategy Through Market-Level Appointments

Burson has backed Chung's regional philosophy with specific leadership investments at the market level. Maggie Lu was named China CEO in June 2025. In Indonesia, Harry Deje was promoted to COO and Shirley Tangkilisan to Managing Director.

Chung's own career includes founding Synergy Communications, which was acquired by Hill & Knowlton in 2002, giving her direct experience navigating agency acquisitions from both sides.

She has positioned Burson's long-term ambition as moving beyond traditional public relations into strategic business advisory at the executive and board level. "We should, and will need to aim to be a business solver, a problem solver," she said.

Burson's APAC operations are targeting growth in a regional communications market valued at US$110.58 million in 2024, projected to grow at 5.8% annually through 2033.