dentsu restructures biz units, removes international CEO role

share on

twitter /
facebook /
linkedin /
- email
- telegram
- whatsapp
- wechat
- pinterest
- line
- snapchat
- reddit

Dentsu Group is restructuring the company and discontinuing the global CEO dentsu international role. Moving forward, it will shift from operating through two business units - dentsu japan network and dentsu international - to a global "One Management Team" structure, with business operations conducted in four regions - Japan, Americas, EMEA, and APAC.

Leading the team is president and CEO Hiroshi Igarashi (pictured left) and dentsu said the management team will comprise a culturally diverse group of leaders with a wealth of knowledge and experience. Alongside this change, dentsu international global CEO Wendy Clark (pictured right) will officially step down from her role on 31 December, and step down as director and executive officer of the company.

Until then, she will maintain her current position and moving forward, the company will provide more detailed updates about its new global management structure, including changes to its senior management lineup. Clark joined the team in 2020 from DDB where she was previously global president and CEO. More recently, during her time at dentsu, Clark oversaw the unification of its creative agencies to form a global network named Dentsu Creative, which comprises 9,000 individuals in 46 markets connected to 37,000 media and CXM experts.

She said in a LinkedIn post that she will miss the entire team as she genuinely loves the company. "But my soaring pride and confidence in everyone at dentsu international simply could not be higher. I know first-hand the brilliant work and results you all are capable of delivering for our clients and the deep care you will take of each another along the way. Your continued success is certain," she added.

Meanwhile, Igarashi joined dentsu in 1984 and has handled sectors including F&B, financial services, mobility, electronics, entertainment, and retail, focusing in particular on business development and on the creation of solutions with roots in social issues and sports. He became an executive officeer in 2017 and additionally assumed the role of head of Japanese business the following year.

After being named a director and executive officer of what was previously known as Dentsu Inc and now Dentsu Group in March 2018, he later assumed the roles of Dentsu Group co-COO; dentsu japan network president and CEO; and dentsu representative director, president and CEO. Since last January, he has also served as vice chairman of the business group at Dentsu Group as well as a dentsu international board member.

At the same time, the group will also strengthen its client services by establishing a new client support platform to enhance the client experience at the global level and by promoting integrated growth solutions, which the agency said will bring together the diverse capabilities within. It will also globally integrate each of its corporate functions to build a common management platform. On September 15, dentsu group will launch a dedicated Integration Office to drive a seamless transformation process.

Igarashi said: "We are deeply grateful to Clark for the significant contribution she has made in helping dentsu group and dentsu international recover their performance and build a strong foundation for the future." According to him, the transition to the global "One Management Team" structure is an ongoing effort to realise the "comprehensive review" and "business transformation" of the entire group that dentsu has been promoting since 2020.

Meanwhile, Clark added: "It's hard to be prouder of our 46,000+ Dentsu International team members and leadership. It's their brilliant thinking, hard work and commitment that has accelerated the opportunity for Dentsu International to now become fully integrated into Dentsu Group and led by One Management Team. While I will miss this team greatly, my confidence in them could not be higher and I will be cheering for their many successes to come."

share on