Dentsu Aegis Network names APAC CEO

Dentsu Aegis Network is promoting Ashish Bhasin to chief executive officer of Asia Pacific, effective immediately.

Bhasin is currently the CEO for the greater south region at Dentsu Aegis Network, a role he took up in March. He will relocate Singapore, reporting to Takaki Hibino executive chairman of Dentsu Aegis Network APAC. Bhasin now joins Dentsu Aegis Network's global executive team and will also continue as chairman for Dentsu Aegis Network India.

Anand Bhadkamkar, previously COO for India and CFO for the greater south region, takes on the India CEO role. He will report to Bhasin.

While Hibinio's role as executive chairman of DAN APAC remains the same, the network has not yet outlined the new division of responsibilities between Bhasin and Hibino. 

However DAN has announced further changes to the APAC structure. Masaya Nakamura, who only in February was named DAN APAC's deputy chairman and chief growth officer, is now headed back to Tokyo. There he will take up a new role as CEO for global client solutions, overseeing hubs in London, Singapore, New York and Tokyo. Calling his role "transformative" Nakamura is also tasked with building "stronger relationships and shared capability between Dentsu Inc. and Dentsu Aegis Network", a priority Hibino spoke to Campaign about at length in a May interview. 

Masaya Nakamura

In a further structural change, Prakash Kamdar, CEO, Isobar Singapore has been promoted to CEO, Dentsu Aegis Network Singapore, which will no longer exist as a standalone entity but will now become part of the Greater South cluster. In March, DAN formed new APAC geographical clusters in the Greater North, Greater South and ANZ. Bhasin will continue to oversee that cluster as he works with Hibino to find a successor for the Greater South CEO role.

Prakash Kamdar

“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," Hibino said in a release. "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.”

Bhasin added, “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.” 

Anand Bhadkamkar

Bhadkamkar said, “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.”