dentsu SG's Prerna Mehrotra takes on expanded media remit for APAC

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Dentsu International APAC has promoted Prerna Mehrotra to the role of CEO, Media, APAC. This is in addition to her current role as MD, media group, Singapore, where she reports into Prakash Kamdar, CEO dentsu Singapore. In her new role, Mehrotra (pictured) will be responsible for driving dentsu’s global media strategy and delivery in APAC, ensuring its alignment and relevance in market with client-centricity at the core, developing an integrated portfolio of tools and capabilities to maximise the effectiveness, relevance and performance of client’s media. She reports to Ashish Bhasin, CEO, dentsu APAC and Peter Huijboom, global CEO, media and global clients.

According to her LinkedIn, Mehrotra joined dentsu in 2016 as head of investment management, leading the investment management team for denstu's media investment and innovation arm, Amplifi APAC. Subsequently, she was promoted to chief investment officer, before moving on to the role of client president of Carat in May 2019. Last year, she took on her current role as MD, media group, Singapore. Before her time with dentsu, Mehrotra spent over six years with Starcom, helming various roles such as client lead APAC, as well as deputy general manager of P&G China brand, and regional communications director. She also previously worked at Publicis' Zenith and WPP's Mindshare.

Mehrotra said: “The media landscape in this region has never been more complex. Over the past eight months, consumers expectations of what brands produce and how they behave has changed rapidly, and it will only continue. I am excited to be working with top talents from across our markets to create growth opportunities and long-term value for our clients.”

Bhasin said Mehrotra was a clear candidate for the role, having joined the business in 2016, and gone from strength to strength excelling in roles across investment and media. She added that Mehrotra's integrated view across denstu's media portfolio and her acumen of over 20 years sets her apart from the rest. Meanwhile, Huijboom said that Mehrotra's experience in key markets including India and China and her long-standing client relationships will ensure dentsu continues to drive value and excellence in everything the agency does. “I am delighted to have Mehrotra join my leadership team and drive dentsu’s media strategy in this critical region," he added.

Earlier last month, dentsu Singapore expanded the remit of its chief experience officer, creative group, Stan Lim, to take on the role of chief creative officer as well. Lim now leads the agency’s creative and experience practices, and focus on partnering with clients to help them tackle their biggest challenges and opportunities. On a global scale, last month also saw the network cutting about 12.5% of its total headcount overseas, as part of the comprehensive review and accelerated transformation programme which was in August. At the same time, it is also integrating about 160 brands to six global leadership brands within two years.

Dentsu International is a rebrand of the agency, which was previously known as Dentsu Aegis Network. Ditching the "aegis" name, dentsu international is now the consolidated subsidiary that oversees dentsu’s international business operations. The rebrand was announced in September last year, and the agency adopted the new name from October onwards. The network's agencies saw many wins last year, including being appointed by Singapore-based fintech start-up Hoolah to accelerate its commerce capabilities, as well as an extended contract with Panasonic through a new regional platform roll-out across nine markets in APAC for its customer service unit. Additionally, dentsu was handed duties for commerce strategy and performance for Philips’ consumer electronics business in the APAC region. Philips also appointed dentsu as its media planning and buying partner.