Dentsu unveils new leadership with creation of SEA cluster

Dentsu has created a new cluster for Southeast Asia, appointing a team of veteran industry leaders Sanjay Bhasin, Prakash Kamdar and Bharti Agrawal to lead the fast-growing market for the network in APAC. The newly formed SEA cluster will include Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Through the appointment, Sanjay Bhasin (pictured right), CEO Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, dentsu, is promoted to CEO Southeast Asia, dentsu effective immediately. A veteran of the industry with 30 years of experience across APAC and SEA region, Bhasin was formerly CEO of Y&R SEA from 2012 to 2018. He was subsequently promoted to CEO Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, dentsu in 2021. As CEO of SEA, Bhasin will oversees all the markets, reporting Dentsu APAC CEO, Rob Gilby.

Meanwhile, on a market specific level, dentsu will continue to have dedicated CEOs.

• Sanjay Bhasin, CEO of Thailand, Vietnam & Myanmar
• Prakash Kamdar, CEO of Singapore & Indonesia
• Tan Kien Eng, CEO of Malaysia
• JC Catibog, CEO of The Philippines

On his appointment, Bhasin said that Southeast Asia has been his home for the best part of his professional life, and he has had the privilege of working with some of the most ambitious businesses and leading some of the most talented teams in the market.

“Us coming together as one borderless team to realise the promise of SEA in the decade of SEA is quite simply the right next step in dentsu’s and my journey. Personally, and professionally, I have also known Kamdar and Agarwal for several decades and we have built an exceptional chemistry during the years of working together. I could not ask for a better, more collaborative and talented team to embark on this new and exciting era together with.”

Meanwhile, dentsu Singapore and Indonesia CEO Prakash Kamdar (pictured left) is promoted to CEO of clients and solutions, Southeast Asia, dentsu. Prakash brings with him 27 years of expertise in digital marketing and digital transformation and has a strong track record in client-centricity and creating transformative solutions.  He joined the digital industry back in 1997 and has been CEO, Singapore, dentsu since 2019 and concurrent CEO, Indonesia, dentsu since January 2022.

Kamdar said: “Since joining dentsu in 2012 as CEO of Isobar Singapore, I have seen the business through its transformation, and I have been truly humbled by the responsibility and confidence that has been given to me.”

“I have played various different roles at dentsu in the last 11 years, however my deep love and passion has always been for using the combined power of creativity, design, data, media, and technology to create transformative solutions that help businesses and brands achieve their growth and good ambitions,” he said.

“I am eager and excited to work with Sanjay, Agarwal and the rest of our SEA leaders and colleagues to transform the fortunes of businesses and people’s lives through our very best integrated growth solutions.”

Bharti Agrawal (pictured centre) is CFO, Southeast Asia, dentsu having been in the role for some months already. She is a proven leader with over 20 years of extensive financial experience together with operational, commercial and M&A expertise in listed and private organisations across the UK, Brazil and Southeast Asia.

Rob Gilby, CEO APAC, dentsu, said that it is well documented that SEA is experiencing exponential growth and tremendous transformation.  As the fifth largest economy in the world, Southeast Asia is experiencing exponential growth and tremendous transformation. Its advertising spend growth is anticipated to outpace Asia Pacific, and with current combined GDP of USD$3.1 trillion, it’s expected to be the fourth largest economy by 2030. 

“Aligning with this is a natural progression for the business and will support significant investment in and commitment to our people, our clients, our partners and our competitive capabilities in this important growth region. I could not be more excited about the proven leaders in Bhasin, Kamdar and Agarwal leading our over 4,000 diverse talents to accelerate our clients’ and our growth in SEA,” he said.

When asked what prompted the new structure, Bhasin shared that Southeast Asia’s growth potential provides a unique opportunity for the agency to find new routes to growth through a dedicated cluster.

"We have been working in this proven model for a period of time now and see the formal formation of a cluster as a natural progression for the business, enabling us to unlock significant investment in, and commitment to, our people, our clients and our competitive capabilities. Southeast Asia is beautifully diverse, and the magic for us is in harnessing synergies from diversity to create possibilities for our people and our clients whilst retaining the uniqueness of each market," Bhasin said.