Merkle Opens First Overseas Office, in Shanghai

US-based customer relationship marketing agency Merkle has announced the opening of its first international office in Shanghai, China, and has promoted Raymond Wu to head it up.

Located in the financial and business district of Pudong, the new office has space initially for 75 employees, with capacity for expansion. The firm says the opening will extend its current capabilities and competitive position by 'providing analytics and technology operations resources on a global scale'.

Merkle combines marketing and technical expertise to produce and evaluate integrated customer marketing programs. With headquarters near Baltimore, MD and nine other US offices, the company has more than 1,000 employees.

Wu, a six-year Merkle veteran, will be assisted by three other managers, with twenty-five other staff on-site. Their role will include support for five of the company's US-based clients including the regional and global Consumer CRM operations of Dell.

According to Chairman and CEO David Williams, the launch is 'a pivotal moment in Merkle's history'. He comments: 'Our expansion into China complements our pattern of rapid growth here in the U.S. During the past year, we have increased our breadth of services, added many world-class brands to our client portfolio, and hired talented staff at Merkle locations across the country.'

EVP and COO Zhengda 'Z' Shen adds: 'The new location will enable us to provide analytics and technology operations capabilities that advance our clients' initiatives in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as support offshore outsourcing for multinational corporations.'

Web site: www.merkleinc.com .