Dentsu launches global practices structure to change the face of integrated growth delivery; announces new leadership

Dentsu today announced the launch of its Global Practices structure and key leadership appointments, led by Jean Lin, Group President – Global Practices, Dentsu Group Inc. The launch and appointments underpin dentsu’s ambition to build highly integrated, people-centered, end-to-end solutions to drive transformational client growth, while emphasizing dentsu’s commitment to its enduring global leadership brands including Carat, iProspect, dentsu X, Dentsu Creative, Merkle and Tag. 

 Key appointments 

Yasuharu Sasaki becomes Global Chief Creative Officer, leading dentsu’s Global Creative Practice.  

In this new role leading dentsu’s global Creative practice, Sasaki will be responsible for driving expertise to unlock the full potential of dentsu’s Creative capability and impact across all practice areas. He will lead the go-to-market brand proposition of Dentsu Creative and nurture global practitioners in creative, planning, innovation and design to build a strong community. In addition to building a world-class creative practice, Sasaki will set the creative standard, and reinforce dentsu’s creative philosophy and culture across practices for the whole of dentsu. He retains his current responsibilities.

 Will Swayne becomes Global Practice President - Media  

In this role Swayne is responsible for leading dentsu’s Global Media Practice. His focus will be on building a winning Media Practice community that delivers continued excellence in its offering to clients, driving client growth and transformation. He will partner with dentsu’s four Regions and its three global media brands, working closely with their respective Global Brand Presidents including Fiona Lloyd (Carat) and Amanda Morrissey, (iProspect). Swayne will set the vision to future-proof dentsu’s media capability, enable media brands to be the gateway to scaled client growth, and deliver implementation excellence powered by dentsu’s supply side management platform Amplifi. He will work and partner closely with the other Practices, as well as dentsu’s Client Leadership and Data/Technology team to deliver client-centric, industry leading integrated solutions.  

Pete Stein becomes Global Practice President - CXM 

Pete Stein becomes Global Practice President - CXM, and will take over the global leadership role of Merkle as Global President of Merkle. In this role, he will partner with all four Regions to ensure the implementation of the dentsu transformation agenda and Global CXM Practice initiatives in Region and Market. The soul of data-driven inquisitiveness and innovation sets Merkle and dentsu’s global CXM offering apart from competition. With Stein’s leadership dentsu will continue to expand data-driven experiences with best-in-class technology to deliver digital transformation for clients – a critical foundation for dentsu to deliver experience transformation. Stein will retain his role leading CXM in Americas. 

“With the creation of our Global Practices, dentsu is making a statement about what the future of integrated, end-to-end client solutions will look like. Clients tell us they want elegant and seamless services which help them deliver on transformational outcomes. We’re removing the barriers and that will allow us to do just that in a way which very few others in the industry can match,” said Jean Lin, Group President – Global Practices, Dentsu Group Inc. “I’m so proud to bring together this new line-up of Global Practice Leads and, in turn, their leadership teams, to do just that – unlock the potential of dentsu’s integrated capabilities to help our clients not only grow, but answer some of the greatest challenges of our time.” 

“As a fundamental part of our One dentsu strategy, we are bringing together the talent, innovation and structures that truly position dentsu as a global, integrated growth and transformation partner to brands,” commented Hiroshi Igarashi, President and CEO, Dentsu Group Inc.. “Under Jean’s leadership, within our Global Practice structure, we count many of the world’s most respected and historic agency brands, full of deep expertise and differentiated services. By creating a cross-service structure, we are simultaneously integrating those capabilities while ensuring clients can still benefit from distinct knowledge.” 

 About dentsu  
Dentsu is the network designed for what’s next, helping clients predict and plan for disruptive future opportunities and create new paths to growth in the sustainable economy. Taking a people-centered approach to business transformation, we use insights to connect brand, content, commerce and experience, underpinned by modern creativity. As part of Dentsu Group Inc. (Tokyo: 4324; ISIN: JP3551520004), we are headquartered in Tokyo, Japan and our 72,000-strong employee-base of dedicated professionals work across four regions (Japan, Americas, EMEA and APAC). Dentsu combines Japanese innovation with a diverse, global perspective to drive client growth and to shape society.  
   
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Notes to editors:   

Yasuharu Sasaki becomes Global Chief Creative Officer  
Yasuharu Sasaki joined Dentsu Inc. in 1995, spending his days as a copywriter filming wildlife in the mountains and oceans of the world. Afterwards, he used his background in computer science to become a founding member of Dentsu Inc.'s interactive creative team. Sasaki worked at dentsu America as an Executive Creative Director and as Managing Director of Dentsu Inc.’s Creative Planning Division before assuming his current position as CEO, Creative, dentsu Japan in 2023. Throughout his entire career, he has pursued the creation of new value by combining creativity and technology, receiving numerous awards including the Cannes Lions Gold, D&AD Yellow Pencil, CLIO Grand Prix, etc. He was the Jury President for the Creative Data Lions at Cannes Lions in 2019, the D&AD Digital category in 2020, and the Brand Experience & Activation Lions at Cannes Lions in 2022, in addition to serving as APAC Effie Awards Head of Jury in 2023, among other roles.  

Will Swayne becomes Global Practice President - Media
Will Swayne, joined dentsu in March 2000, where he managed Carat's global adidas account, he then got the opportunity to move to APAC and established the Regional Client Team in Hong Kong and later become Managing Director of Carat Hong Kong. His journey continued in New York, where he led campaigns for major clients, notably P&G, as Managing Director of Carat USA. Recognized for his outstanding contributions, he became Global President of Carat, driving the agency's success in New Business and RECMA network diagnostic for three consecutive years. Since 2019, he has been the Chief Client Officer within Media. During his time at dentsu Swayne has been acknowledged in industry lists like Campaign’s "Most Powerful People in Advertising," Adweek’s "Media All-Stars," and The Internationalist’s "Agency Innovator”. 

Pete Stein becomes Global Practice President - CXM
Pete Stein most recently served as President of Merkle Americas and leader of the dentsu Customer Experience Management (CXM) Service Line in the Americas – a role he retains as part of his new remit. In the role he oversaw all aspects of Merkle’s Americas regional operation, including sales, account management, solutions, services, and marketing. He was responsible for driving the P&L for Merkle Americas, representing more than 70% of the company’s global revenue and employee base. A 25-year industry veteran, Stein is a recognized leader with a proven track record of leading digital, media and consulting firms. Prior to joining Merkle in 2020, he served as the CEO of Huge, a global experience agency with 1,200 employees in 13 offices across the globe. Huge delivered world-class customer experience work to clients like Google, McDonalds, and P&G. Prior to that role, he spent more than 18 years at Razorfish, ultimately rising to global CEO of the organization. While at Razorfish, Stein expanded a base of digital offerings by creating new global capabilities in e-commerce, social, mobile, and programmatic media, delivering strong growth for clients. He is actively involved in the advertising and digital community, having served on the Ad Council board and the Snap Client Council.