Honorary University Fellows
Mr Lo Sheung Yan is an HKU alumnus, the Chief Creative Officer of Wunderman Thompson Asia Pacific and also Chairman of its Creative Council.
Mr Lo holds a BA from HKU, and after graduation became a middle school teacher and also a Tutor in Ricci Hall. His advertising career began in 1988 at Ogilvy, and thereafter Lintas and Euro. He then headed north, joining China’s advertising industry in 1996 at J Walter Thompson (JWT), and becoming Chief Creative Officer of Wunderman Thompson Asia Pacific in 2019.
Responsible for providing creative leadership to the agency, Mr Lo helped JWT Asia Pacific and JWT Shanghai garner many prestigious regional and global advertising awards, including many firsts in China’s advertising industry, from winning China’s first gold Clio, to helping lead China to its first Grand Prix at Cannes in 2011. At ADFEST 2016, Ma Yan was presented with the prestigious “Lotus Legend” award.
He made history once again when he became the first Chinese jury head of the 2012 Cannes’ Outdoor Advertising Awards. Mr Lo continues to support the industry by serving as a juror at regional awards like the Longxi Chinese Advertising Awards, Spikes Asia and ADFEST, and international shows like Clio, Cannes and ADC. He served as President of the Integrated and Direct jury at Spikes Asia 2019 and is often invited to universities to help educate the next generation of advertisers.
Mr Lo also has an ongoing interest in theatre and song writing. He wrote, directed, and acted in stage plays for over fifteen years while in Hong Kong. He also wrote lyrics for Asian pop songs and musicals and is a member of the Composers & Authors Society of Hong Kong. In 2009, the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce honoured him as one of the “Outstanding Hong Kong People in Shanghai”.
Citation delivered by Professor Hongbin Cai, Dean of the HKU Business School
Mr Lo Sheung Yan is an HKU alumnus, the Chief Creative Officer of Wunderman Thompson Asia Pacific and also Chairman of its Asia Pacific Creative Council.
Like the artists George Orwell, Mark Twain, Stevie Wonder, 白雪仙 and Lady Gaga, almost everyone calls Mr Lo by his sobriquet, “Ma Yan” – so I will do so too.
Ma Yan holds a BA from HKU, and after graduation became a middle school teacher and also a Tutor in Ricci Hall. This is when his interest in creative writing began.
His advertising career started in 1988 at the world famous advertising agency then known as Ogilvy & Mather (now just Ogilvy), and thereafter, other renowned agencies like Lintas and Euro. Ma Yan has said that starting at Ogilvy was a lucky break, and the foundation and basics he learnt there would subsequently influence his entire career.
He joined China’s advertising industry in 1996 at J Walter Thompson (also known simply as JWT), becoming Chairman of its Asia Pacific Creative Council in 2013 and Chief Creative Officer of Wunderman Thompson Asia Pacific in 2019.
His creative leadership helped JWT garner many prestigious regional and global advertising awards, including many firsts in China’s advertising industry, from winning China’s first gold Clio, to helping lead China to its first Grand Prix at Cannes in 2011.
Ma Yan made history once again when he became the first Chinese jury head of the 2012 Cannes’ Outdoor Advertising Awards. At ADFEST 2016, he was presented with the illustrious “Lotus Legend” award.
David Oglivy, the founder of the agency where Ma Yan got his start, was known for his famous quotes and advice for creative people. One of these was:
“Be more ambitious. When you do a story or an ad, try and hit the ball out of the park every time.”
I think it is clear that Ma Yan took this to heart. With so many awards to his name, he certainly has been hitting the ball out of the park!
Ma Yan continues to support the industry by serving as a juror at regional awards like the Longxi Chinese Advertising Awards, Spikes Asia and ADFEST, and international award shows like Clio, Cannes and ADC. He is often invited to universities to help educate the next generation of advertisers.
Ma Yan is still very much interested in theatre and song writing. He wrote, directed, and acted in stage plays for over 15 years while in Hong Kong. He also wrote lyrics for Asian pop songs and musicals, and is a member of the Composers & Authors Society of Hong Kong.
Just this summer, Ma Yan has returned to his home city to take up the additional role of Chief Creative Officer at Wunderman Thompson Hong Kong. I am sure we will continue to see him going from strength to strength in creative excellence, as well as being a role model to new creative generations.
Therefore, Mr Pro-Chancellor, it is my great pleasure to present Ma Yan, Mr Lo Sheung Yan, for the Honorary University Fellowship, in recognition of his contributions to Hong Kong and academia.