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At the start of 1999, Darren was employed by the Weber Group as an account executive. Having recently completed an Asian Studies and International Business Management degree in Queensland, Australia, and then moving to Taiwan to learn Mandarin whilst freelance reporting on the side, Darren quickly moved up the corporate ladder to become senior account manager. It was at this time, towards the end of 2000, that headquarters merged the Weber Group and another prominent PR firm Shandwick; not together, but as two new firms, GolinHarris and Weber Shandwick. Darren recalls this time as being a little unstable as he and his colleagues felt quite removed from all the change happening at headquarters. However, his feeling towards his new company he was now part of, took an abrupt twist thanks to a telephone call he received from the then CEO, Rich Jernstedt. Out of the blue, Rich called Darren "to see how he was going" and to find out from the grass roots level how the people were feeling. To this day Darren describes that moment as the epitome of the GolinHarris culture. He comments "After that, I realized that these people, particularly management at GolinHarris really cared about their employees. They make you feel important and they act with integrity -- and this comes through in the client work we deliver ." Whether it was from his past life, working as a food and beverage manager within the Accor group or perhaps the fact that he was the eldest of three brothers and a sister, Darren's leadership skills were apparent and he once again quickly moved up the ranks. Diane Wu, the former managing director of the Taipei office identified him as a potential office leader and in 2003, Darren was promoted to vice president. During that time Diane and Darren invested in the team to create and execute campaigns brimming with creativity and innovation, and as a result won numerous awards including an International Public Relations Association (IPRA) Golden World Award as well as IABC awards, the first time that a PR agency from Taiwan had ever won either. To top things off, the firm took home 'Campaign of the Year' at the 2004 Asia Pacific PR Awards for its work with 3M. Creativity is certainly a strength within the Taipei office. So what's the secret? Darren explains "We try to promote innovation and creativity by insisting that the new idea is better than the last one. The majority of our clients are retainer clients so we sit down as a team at the start of the year and work out how we can make this year better than the last. Same budget (hopefully more!), but fresh ideas." And the proof is in the pudding. A Whooping 80 percent of clients are on a retainer agreement. Clients like DHL, Zespri, 3M and Yahoo have been clients for three years (GH in Taipei opened in November 2000) and project based clients like Merck Display Technologies come back to GolinHarris year after year because no other firm provides what GolinHarris do. Long time client Maureen Wu, Manager, Public Relations, Yahoo! Taiwan sums it up, "focused and precision-oriented leadership, inspires team members and clients with vision". Darren obviously thrives in a team environment. When he's not at work, he's still encouraging teamwork capataining his local cricket team. Translated as 'ban qiao' (pronounced bun-cho) Darren and his team have started a craze that baffles many of the locals. They play on a baseball pitch, with expats from India, England, New Zealand, South Africa and Australia and most recently recruited Taiwan's first cricket player - so they say! Although it’s a local competition, they are taking their skills to Phuket in April to assist with the tsunami disaster relief effort. Approximately 18 teams from the Asia Pacific region will take part in this fundraising event and even if they don't win Darren assures me "it will still be a lot of fun". When asked what his vision was for GolinHarris in Taipei, his response reflected that of Fred Cook's, the global president and CEO. "I want to become the biggest boutique. I want to continue providing our clients with superior personal service and always do better. I want to keep challenging my team and myself to 'problem solve' in a way that no other firm does. We basically want to win." Darren Burns, managing director of GolinHarris in Taipei can be contacted at dburns@golinharris.com or call him on +886 2 2722 5369. |
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