Dentsu Aegis Network: Ashish Bhasin is APAC CEO; Anand Bhadkamkar is India CEO

Dentsu Aegis Network announced the appointment of Ashish Bhasin, CEO, Dentsu Aegis Network Greater South into the newly created role of CEO, Dentsu Aegis Network, APAC, effective immediately. Based in Singapore, he joins the Dentsu Aegis Network Global Executive team and will report into Takaki Hibino, executive chairman, Dentsu Aegis Network APAC. Takaki’s role as executive chairman, APAC remains the same.

This move further cements the recently announced Cluster Structure; Greater North, Greater South and ANZ in APAC, giving the markets and their leadership teams greater focus on identifying and moving into key growth opportunities. Bhasin will focus on accelerating this growth while delivering greater operational rigor and leadership excellence across the region. These changes reflect evolving market dynamics across the region, mitigating the disruption that new entrants, shifting consumer demands and technological evolution creates by focusing on delivering long-term, sustainable growth for our clients. Bhasin will maintain his role as chairman, Dentsu Aegis Network India.

Commenting on Bhasin’s elevation, Takaki Hibino, executive chairman, Dentsu Aegis Network APAC, said, “Ashish’s appointment is critical for the region; enabling the markets to focus on client needs and growth opportunities while delivering operational rigor for the business. He was a clear candidate from the start with a proven track record of delivering long-term and consistent growth. Under his leadership, the business in India is now the second largest advertising and media organisation by revenue in the market. His long-term vision coupled with his acumen for identifying an opportunity is one of the best in the business, and I am delighted he will join me in leading the business in APAC.”

Ashish Bhasin, CEO, Dentsu Aegis Network APAC, commented, “I am thrilled to be taking on this new role within the APAC region. There is never a more exciting time to be in this business; our competitive landscape is becoming more complex and fragmented while our clients are crying out for long-term vision and simplicity. We have to keep their needs as our North Star whilst delivering long-term, sustainable growth for our business. We are in a unique position to build propositions around our client needs, and I look forward to this next chapter in the transformation journey of this region.”

In India, Anand Bhadkamkar, erstwhile COO and CFO South Asia, has now been promoted to CEO, Dentsu Aegis Network India. Bhadkamkar will continue to report to Ashish Bhasin in his new role.

Anand Bhadkamkar, CEO, Dentsu Aegis Network India commented, “I am extremely excited and honoured to take on this new responsibility. I look forward to embarking upon a new chapter in my career and work with Ashish as the chairman of India to continue building DAN into the country’s most innovative, future-proofed market-leading network. Our One P&L philosophy and our leadership status in digital sets us up in the best position versus our competitors.”

In addition, Masaya Nakamura, deputy chairman and chief growth officer, APAC has taken a new role as CEO, Global Solutions, Dentsu Aegis Network, based in Tokyo. He will remain on the Global Executive. Prakash Kamdar, CEO, Isobar Singapore has been promoted to CEO, Dentsu Aegis Network Singapore.