70: Antony Cundy, former President, McCann Worldgroup Japan

70: Antony Cundy, former President, McCann Worldgroup Japan


Antony Cundy, former CEO & President of McCann Worldgroup
Japan first arrived in Japan in the mid-90s to teach English and
completed his Post-Graduate Studies at Tokyo University. Through
connections, he landed a role in a Toyota subsidiary working on
marketing Lexus. Shortly afterwards, Mr. Cundy started working at
Hakuhodo Lintas working with large global consumer brands. Mr.
Cundy then became general manager at DDB’s Japan office and then
moved to London to lead the strategy and account services. Mr.
Cundy then became head of planning and account services for
Beacon Communications. In 2016, Mr. Cundy joined McCann
Worldgroup.


 


During his first few years of leadership, Mr. Cundy admits he
“did not do a good job” as he found it challenging to engage and
motivate his team to work towards a set vision and goal. Through
experience, he realized being clear and consistent with his
messaging and communication was crucial to lead the team. “You
have to tell people as realistically and in as much detail as you
can, this is what we're going to do. This is what I expect,
everyone. This is your job. Make sure that people understand that
at their level they're expected to do this.” Moreover, he
highlights the need to communicate not just to one’s direct
report but to people at all sections of the organization.


 


As the strategic and account lead for DDB in London, Mr. Cundy
worked to build client relationships across vast markets in
Europe. There, he found that people worked like a “steam train”
in which people kept running ahead but did not look back to
evaluate their work. As a martial arts enthusiast, Mr. Cundy
values Zanshin 残心 meaning remaining mind, or having a state of
awareness once something has occurred. Therefore, Mr. Cundy put a
stronger system in place to be able to evaluate the team’s work
and create templates to improve future performance. As Mr. Cundy
matured into his leadership role, he explains delegating became
much smoother for him. When he trusts his team to deliver on
their own instead of relying on him to provide all the answers,
Mr. Cundy found that the team started to trust him back and
became more accountable to their work.


 


On his advice to foreign leaders coming to Japan, Mr. Cundy
recommends talking to all levels of people in the organization to
get a wholesome picture of the company. Secondly, he emphasizes
the diversity of the Japanese market, as the North and South of
Japan have very different needs. As the leader, Mr. Cundy says
one should be making sure every level and every part of the
business understands these differences. Thirdly, Mr. Cundy notes
clarity and consistency in communication, and being oneself is
important. Lastly, he explains: “you have to believe in the
fundamentals of your business plan. You have to have some
flexibility. You're not going to achieve it through a straight
line, but you should never take yourself away from it because the
Japanese are saying, that's going to be tough. If you're there
for the mission you need to deliver on the mission, you just got
to realize that it's not going to be as straight as you think.”


Breaking News: Tony has just been announced as the new Vice
President Marketing and Communications at Cartier.