dentsu X expands China scale

I am very pleased to announce the expansion of dentsu X China, with leadership under Michael Zhang in a newly created role as CEO. The expanded dentsu X China will now operate from three key hubs in China: Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou with a team of over 400. Through this integration the business will now include the capabilities of Dentsu Aegis sister agency brand &c, with specialists in interactive marketing strategy, e-commerce, mobile, ePR and social media. The formal integration of &c into dentsu X creates a uniquely positioned and dynamic media brand that can deliver ‘Experience beyond Exposure’ with a strong base of talent across all our key China hubs.

Michael Zhang will report into Michelle Lau, CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network China. A media veteran with more than 20 years of experience in the communications industry, Michael joined Dentsu Aegis in 2018 to lead &c and its strategic alignment to Merkle. Prior to joining Dentsu Aegis Network China, Michael was CEO of Neo@Ogilvy, where he was instrumental in creating new growth momentum by leveraging the global success of performance marketing at a local level.  Michael will be supported by an expanded leadership team. Jonathan Tse will lead business development and oversee the Beijing operation, Phil Kono, will be responsible for operations management and Hiroyuki Maruyama will lead the development of integrated client solutions. Vivi Li will lead the Guangzhou operation and Robert Fuchs and Rima Watanabe will lead the Shanghai business teams. 

Mitsuyuki Nakamura, Global President of dentsu X, said: “dentsu X in China has seen exceptional growth over the past three years, expanding by 63%. This has been driven by the ability to create integrated, seamless solutions for clients in China. The newly expanded team and leadership further reinforces dentsu X’s ability to provide innovative client centric marketing services that attract, acquire, convert, and crucially, retain customers”. Michelle Lau, CEO, Dentsu Aegis Network China added; “Clients demand integrated and addressable marketing solutions. Data, technology and creativity have to come together for the best. With Michael’s leadership and the additional capabilities from the &c team, dentsu X is now uniquely positioned to make that happen and drive growth for our clients in China.”

Please join me in congratulating the team on their new roles. The integration is effective as of 01 April and we look forward to sharing more content on the vision and direction for dentsu X China over the coming month.