Dentsu appoints Michael Bass as APAC chief trading officer

Dentsu has appointed Michael Bass as the chief trading officer for media of Dentsu Asia Pacific. In his current role, Bass will support Dentsu International’s objectives and meeting revenue targets for the company’s media agencies Carat, iProspect and dentsu X. Bass will be also working with the media supply chain, digital technology partners, as well as key internal stakeholders, to develop and implement an APAC trading strategy. Bass will report directly to Prerna Mehrotra, chief executive officer, Media, Dentsu APAC.

With over 20 years worth of experience, Bass’ career encompasses a range of senior investment and trading roles across the media sector. He had spent seven years at IPG Mediabrands as trading director for initiative and subsequently moved on to become the general manager for investment at group level for the company. Before his redesignation, Bass most recently worked as the chief investment officer for Dentsu ANZ for three years. Bass said, “I am truly honoured to be appointed chief trading officer for media in APAC with dentsu, at a time when we are seeing such significant change across our industry,”

“APAC is widely regarded as the most fearless and innovative region and I’m excited to be partnering with our highly capable leaders to help drive the transformation of our trading practices. I look forward to developing and implementing a sustainable commercial strategy that builds on our strong foundation,” he added.

Mehrotra said: “We look forward to having him on board to support the trading teams across the APAC region and develop commercial strategies that deliver increased value for all – for consumers, our people, our advertisers, our clients, our partners and us."

“As part of our commitment to support the career growth of our talent at dentsu, this internal promotion of Michael demonstrates our commitment to support the borderless mobility of our talent in the network,” she added.

Over the months, Dentsu has appointed various leadership appointments for APAC including Cheuk Chiang as APAC CEO of Dentsu Creative and Rob Gilby as APAC CEO of Dentsu International. The appointments were announced following the formation of Dentsu Creative, a global creative network meant to unite Dentsu’s creative agencies including DentsuMB, 360i and Isobar, and expand its entertainment, earned attention and experience capabilities. According to the agency, the launch is part of a broader strategy intended to streamline client engagement and infuse creativity into everything dentsu international does.

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