Ian Chee is the Chief Strategy Officer at MRY, a digital agency specializing in the intersection of innovation, creativity and technology. Previously Ian lead strategy at AKQA in New York and has worked on global businesses from Hong Kong, Shanghai to Seoul and New York.
Ian has often found himself at the intersection of unique vantage points; always having one foot in the door of two or more point of views. It all started with where he was born, in Hong Kong, a cross between Chinese history and British opportunity while attending an International school that taught him American creativity (whilst for some odd reason holding a Belgian passport). His parents were one of the few Asian parents who actually encouraged their young son to pursue the arts. He spent a summer at R.I.S.D. oil painting, but then decided that was too impractical and leaped to the counter-point, a Columbia education where, at first, he aimed to major in economics, but landed instead with a major in Philosophy.
Ian’s career has spanned cities from Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul, to New York. He was taught branding and story telling first hand by some of the masters of the craft. Always looking to mix it up, a little less than a decade ago Ian made a conscious decision to see its application not in 30 second video or print but through the lens of technology. Ian’s job as the Chief Strategy Officer at MRY and previous jobs at AKQA, McCann, allows him to take all of these disparate points and connect them in new ways.
He is an avid collector of urban vinyl, a would be amateur photography enthusiast and father to a beautiful young lady.
This site is where you will find his writing on the intersection of humanity x creativity x technology. With so much on the web, thanks for stopping by.
A brief history of where Ian has been:
MRY – Chief Strategy Officer
AKQA – Director, Co-head of Strategy
Digitas – VP Director Strategy
McCann – VP Strategy
Leo Burnett – Senior Strategist Greater China – Strategy Lead on McDonald’s
Humanity x Creativity x Technology by Ian Chee 