Dentsu China overhauls leadership

Dentsu China has announced an overhaul to its leadership bench.

Richard Frampton has returned to the agency as chief strategy officer, joining the senior leadership team. A Dentsu veteran, Frampton previously served as managing director, Strategic Solutions, North Asia at Publicis Groupe. Before his tenure at Publicis, which began in 2021, Frampton held roles at Carat, Aegis, and Dentsu International in China and Singapore for over 15 years from 2005 to 2020.

To fill the positions left vacant by the exit of Richard Tan and Terrence Yung—previously the leads on creative and media at Dentsu China—Guang Cui has been appointed CEO of Dentsu Creative China. With over two decades of experience in marketing and branding across China and Japan, Cui will also take on the expanded responsibility of serving as chief business officer for Dentsu China's Japanese client business.

Meanwhile, Tommy Li is now the CEO of Dentsu Media China, taking the reins of the media division after Yung’s departure. Li, who joined Dentsu in 2019 and brings more than 20 years of experience to the role, will be responsible for transforming and elevating the group’s media brands, including Carat, iProspect, and Dentsu X, as well as deepening ecosystem partnerships and advancing talent development.

Li will collaborate closely with Merkle China's CEO Derek Huang and Dentsu's CCO Chris Chen as core practice leaders. They have been entrusted to work together to further integrate Dentsu’s services in the market, and ensure they remain ideas-led, AI-powered, and values-driven.

At the group level, Ami Qian will helm the newly created role of chief transformation and marketing officer for Dentsu China. Previously the CEO of Carat China, Qian has been with Dentsu since 2017. In her new role, her responsibilities include driving the transformation of Dentsu China’s operations, overseeing brand marketing, reputation management, change initiatives, and corporate communications.

Jianhao Chen has been promoted to chief data and solutions officer, Greater North Asia, while continuing to serve as chief technology officer for Merkle China. In this expanded role, Chen will lead the Solution Center team and collaborate across Dentsu’s various practices on data-driven solutions.

Several other veterans have earned promotions: 

• Cindy Lee is now the CEO of Dentsu Creative East China. Lee, joined Dentsu Isobar in 2017, has played a key role in leading the Isobar China team in recent years.
• Jeffery Cao, VP of Amplifi China, has been elevated to the head of trading and investment for Dentsu China.
• Laurien Lee, CEO of iProspect China, takes on an expanded role to drive growth across the media business.

Chun Yin Mak, CEO, Dentsu China and Practice President, CXM/Merkle APAC, said in a press statement, “We are thrilled to announce these exciting new leadership positions, appointments and promotions, which represent a new chapter in Dentsu China's journey towards greater success and innovation.”

Jennifer Tang, CEO, Greater North Asia and Taiwan said, “This is an important milestone that underscores our commitment to nurturing and attracting top talent, which remains our most valued asset at Dentsu.”