SY Lau, senior executive vice-president of Tencent and president of its Online Media Group. [Photo/qq.com]

SY Lau, senior executive vice-president of Tencent and president of its Online Media Group, was named 2015 Media Person of the Year on Thursday in Beijing by the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

The Cannes Lions Awards is an annual celebration of creative excellence in the fields of advertising and communications. The Media Person of the Year award is presented annually to a media executive who has contributed to the world's media innovation. Previous recipients include Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Google, and Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook. Lau is the first executive of a Chinese company to receive the award.

According to a statement by Cannes Lions, Lau was selected for "his vision and direction in transforming OMG from a provider of a single Internet portal service into China’s largest and most admired integrated media service matrix".

Lau says the award not only demonstrates the success of Tencent OMG, but also highlights the rise of China as a global force for online innovation, creativity and high quality contents.

The award will be officially presented to Lau on June 23 during Cannes Lions, which will he held from June 21 through 27 in Cannes, France.

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