Danai quits over founder's sacking
Danai Chanchaochai last week abruptly resigned from the top position of MDK Consultant (Thailand) Ltd, a public relations firm, in an apparent move to show his disapproval with the headquarters' decision to sack the founder of the MDK brand name.
A source said Danai called it quits after MDK's headquarters, the London-based WPP Group, sacked Michael De Kreter. Kreter created the MDK brandname for the Asian market 25 years ago, the source said. Kreter was the MDK Group chief executive officer overseeing Asia until last week. WPP engages in advertising and communications in various countries. The source said WPP sacked Kreter on Tuesday and asked Danai to take over Kreter's job as CEO Group for the Asian region. However, Danai refused to take the position and submitted his resignation. A source said Danai did not believe that WPP would continue to maintain and strengthen the MDK brand, which was meant for the Asian market. The source said Danai worked with Kreter, an Australian, in building up awareness of the MDK brandname in Thailand for more than 15 years. At present, the company is among the top public relation companies with several major clients. It was speculated that Danai would set up his own public relations agency. A source said Danai would not breach any commitment with WPP because his latest five-year contract had only ended last year. The source said WPP earlier approached Danai to take over Kreter's position. He said Danai two weeks ago informed his staff of WPP's decision to sack Kreter two weeks earlier. Sources said after Danai's resignation letter on March 22, WPP sent staff to check the operations of MDK's office in the Chid Lom area. The unexpected visit upset the local staff. To show the depth of their feelings, the local staff yesterday gave the WPP staff wreaths.
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