Susana Tsui has stepped down as Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN) China CEO and is leaving the company less than a year after taking the role, as part of a host of regional leadership changes the network announced today.
Tsui joined DAN in April 2018 from PHD, where she had been APAC CEO since 2013. In a release, DAN said she is being replaced by Michelle Lau, who returns to DAN having held various leadership positions at the group between 2003 and 2015. Lau will work with Jean Lin, who becomes non-executive chairperson of Dentsu Aegis Network China in addition to her role as Isobar global CEO.
In a statement, recently named DAN regional executive chairman Takaki Hibino thanked Tsui “for her leadership and many contributions she made to our business in China and wish her all the best for the future.”
In addition, DAN announced that its regional leadership will restructure into three groupings: greater North, greater South and ANZ. Greater North covers China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea, while greater South consists of India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia and Myanmar.
Henry Tajer remains ANZ CEO, while Ashish Bhasin has been promoted to greater South CEO, based in India. Hibino will take on the position of greater North CEO temporarily as DAN looks for a permanent hire.
Moreover, DAN’s Singapore business has been separated from the regional clusters and will be led by Masaya Nakamura, in addition to his roles as APAC deputy chairman and chief growth officer.
Hibino added: “Our clients’ needs are evolving, so simplifying structures and bringing a level of autonomy to the clusters gives these diverse businesses the ability to respond to clients’ changing needs in an effective way.”
