Dentsu International has appointed Robert Gilby as CEO of APAC. Gilby will assume the role beginning September 5, 2022. Gilby will be responsible for unifying APAC’s 11,600 talented people across 18 markets around Densu’s global ambition to be the world’s most integrated network in advertising. .
He has over 30 years of experience in the media and entertainment industry and has worked in Asia-Pacific for over 25 years. According to the agency, he has a proven track record of growing profitable businesses including WarnerMedia and The Walt Disney Company, with extensive experience in markets including Australia, China, India, South Asia Southeast and Singapore.
Gilby joins dentsu from Nielsen where he is President, APAC responsible for building relationships with key media owners, brands and agencies to deliver audience insights across the media ecosystem. Previously, he was CEO and Founder of Blue Hat Ventures, an investment and advisory firm focused on identifying and commercializing high-growth digital media companies in Asia-Pacific. He has also held non-executive and advisory board positions with the Ministry of Communications and Information, InfoComm Media Development Authority and Singapore Media Festival.
“Gilby is an exceptionally well-rounded leader with a progressive approach who deeply understands the future of the industry and the opportunities for growth, for our employees, our customers and our business,” said Densu International CEO Wendy Clark. “Importantly, he has clearly demonstrated his long-term vision, values-based leadership style and passion for building diverse and high-performing teams, which is fundamental to how we do business. business at dentsu.”
“I was immediately drawn to Densu’s compelling vision with its rich heritage as the only Asian-born holding company. It is a privilege to lead this region as the world looks to the Asia-Pacific region, as its GDP growth is expected to remain strong, a growing middle class emerging and rapid digitalization and investment in digital platforms. -local forms exceed existing technologies. dentsu’s ability to understand people better than anyone else and his vision for horizontal creativity coupled with these market conditions create an exciting opportunity for brands to thrive.
He will be based in Singapore and will report to Wendy Clark, global CEO of dentsu International, and join the dentsu International management team.
The post of CEO of APAC was previously held by Ashish Bhasin who left the agency in November last year after 13 years with the group. Bhasin was first named CEO of APAC in 2019. He was previously CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network Greater South. When Bhasin was first appointed, his primary focus was to accelerate growth while delivering “greater operational rigor and leadership excellence” across the region. To manage his transition, APAC Chief Financial Officer Simon Jones and COO Belli Mathanda have worked closely with Clark to focus more on the region during this time, supported by the company’s leadership team. ‘APAC.
Meanwhile, Dentsu International also created a new global creative network, Dentsu Creative, last month, bringing together its creative agencies, including DentsuMB, 360i and Isobar, and expanding its entertainment, attention and experience capabilities. Dentsu Creative will consist of 9,000 people in 46 markets connected to 37,000 media and CXM experts across Dentsu International and will work closely with Dentsu’s creative team in Japan.
According to the agency, the launch is part of a larger strategy to simplify customer engagement and inject creativity into everything Densu International does. Dentsu Creative combines Dentsu’s Japanese heritage and craftsmanship with its experience building brands in the modern media landscape.
On the customer side, Densu recently bagged Lenovo’s media business across Asia Pacific, working with Performics, which retained Lenovo’s paid media business in China. In addition, Standard Chartered has also appointed dentsu International as its media agency to cover media planning, buying and strategy for five years. The two parties have been working together since 2017.
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