Leo Burnett Korea said Tuesday that it has named current general manager Cho You-mi the new managing director at the Korean branch of the world’s leading advertising company.

With her recent promotion, Cho has become the first female president among the heads of the nation’s top 20 advertising companies, the company said. 

The 40-year-old joined Leo Burnett in 2002 and has participated in commercial productions for global and domestic companies such as P&G, McDonald’s and Pfizer Korea.

“I will exercise a leadership based on Leo Burnett’s ‘humankind’ spirit that changes people’s minds and behavior and puts people first,” she said. “I’ll also help employees to work in a more creative environment.”

Cho received a master’s degree in advertising at Graduate School of Sungkyunkwan University. Before joining Leo Burnett, she also worked for international companies such as Edward Keller and McCann Erickson.

Leo Burnett Worldwide, one of the world’s top three advertising companies, is based in Chicago and operates 132 regional branches globally in 85 countries.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)