Accelerated ‘transformation’ of Dentsu International’s operations in India has led to a series of leadership changes, consolidations and dissolutions of agency brands over the past few months.
The latest is the departure of Ashish Bhasin, CEO APAC, and chairman India, Dentsu International, who has put in his papers to explore and pursue his personal interests.
In a statement shared with Storyboard18, he said, “I have had a wonderful 13+ years and have enjoyed leading dentsu India and dentsu APAC. In this journey I was lucky to have a brilliant team, very supportive colleagues and have made some lovely friends for life. Dentsu is a great company and I wish them the very best. I am unable to comment on my future plans for now, but in the meanwhile, I am really looking forward to going to Harvard for the Advanced Management Program, for which I have secured admission for the next semester.”
The last such announcement was about leadership changes at Dentsu Webchutney; the agency’s current CEO Gautam Reghunath and its chief creative officer (CCO) P.G. Aditiya will leave the company in early-2022 to set up their own venture, according to a company statement.
The transformation and other big moves
In August 2021, Anand Bhadkamkar, CEO of Dentsu India, quit, and Ashish Bhasin, CEO APAC, and chairman India, Dentsu International, and Peter Hujiboom, global CEO of Media and global clients, assumed leadership duties in the interim. The company is still searching for Bhadkamkar’s replacement.
Senior-level leaders were also hired, and existing leadership was reconfigured during the past few months.
Storyboard18 was first to report that Bhasin was moving out of the group. We also reported Divya Karani, chief executive officer (CEO) of Dentsu Media South Asia, and CEO, Dentsu X India, would get additional responsibilities after Bhadkamkar’s departure. Karani did get an additional role.
In an internal mail, Wendy Clark, CEO, Dentsu International, said she will be working closely with Simon Jones, CFO, Dentsu APAC, and Belli Mathanda, COO, Dentsu APAC, with the support of the APAC executive team.
Storyboard18 was also first to report that the group’s India operations are being closely monitored by regional and global leaders, following many high-profile exits. More changes are expected as the Japanese advertising group further accelerates the transformation and consolidates its operations in India.
This is a developing story. Watch this space for more.
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