Guan Hin Tay

Name: Guan Hin Tay
Title: Regional Executive Creative Director, Southeast Asia, JWT Singapore

Guan graduated from Art Center in Pasadena during a worldwide recession. Luckily, he found work after winning the Best of Show in LA Creative Club Student Competition. Before returning to Singapore, he took a few months off teaching in Russia Far East, Vladivostok.
In 1998, his work formed part of the winning portfolio when AdAge named Saatchi & Saatchi Singapore “International Agency of the Year”. Under his leadership, Campaign Brief Asia ranked Leo Burnett the fifth hottest agencies in the region, and ranked him as one of the region’s top ten creatives for the past 4 years and 7th in The Work 2004. Guan joined JWT in 2005 and was elected to the Worldwide Creative Council.
His awards include Gold Lions in Cannes, D&AD, One Show, Clio, ADFEST, Award and Spikes. In fact, 3 campaigns are included in Gunn Report‘s top 10. Guan has judged for D&AD, One Show, ADFEST, Spikes & Award in Sydney and Cannes in 2007.
This year, under Guan’s leadership, JWT Manila and Jakarta created history by bringing home Philippines’s first Gold Cannes Lion and Indonesia’s first Cannes Lion. He is only the second Asian to chair the Clio Awards for print, poster, innovative media and integrated campaigns and was appointed as Chief of Jury for the inaugural Asia Outdoor Advertising Awards at ADFEST 2008.
Guan believes in staying close to the ground - by giving his time to the students through workshops for young creatives in One Show China and ADFEST and by servicing in the Singapore army as a mechanic under an oily Tank.