DDB names new Japan MD

Marsh joined DDB Group Japan two years ago as general manager of Rapp Tokyo and Tribal DDB Tokyo. Prior to that, he held senior account and strategy positions at Rapp New York.

DDB was unable to provide details on Takeda’s move.

According to DDB Group Asia-Pacific vice-chairman Douglas Faudet, Marsh’s background in data and CRM will be an important asset for the agency.

“He marries the skills of direct and digital with an inherent understanding of brands and business, enabling us to push our clients and ourselves forward,” Faudet said, noting that Marsh had succeeded in attracting “exciting new opportunities” to the agency in a challenging business environment.

Marsh said that while he did not intend to focus the agency on a single discipline, such as CRM, data would play an increasingly important role in solving "complex and interdependent business problems".

"Discipline aside, we will want to robustly apply analytics and insight development across the board," he said.

He said he did not draw a distinction in terms of opportunities between domestic and foreign agencies in Japan. "We are all looking to be better partners with our clients and we are challenged with an evolving marketplace where we will need to become more innovation-focused. As far as my plans for DDB Group Japan go, I think we will need to compete vigorously in that space."

In his new role, Marsh will work closely with Richard Thomas, DDB’s president of global clients and regional chief integration officer.