Dentsu Aegis Network appoints Tony Chen to lead China Media brands

Today，Dentsu Aegis Network announces that Tony Chen has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer, across the Media line of business reporting jointly to Michelle Lau, CEO, Dentsu Aegis China and Peter Huijiboom, CEO Global Clients and Media.  The Media line of business in China brings together Carat, dentsu X, Vizeum, iProspect, Posterscope and Amplifi.

In this new role, Tony will lead the Media business across Dentsu Aegis brands including trading and investment arms.  His focus will help deliver value to local, regional and global clients in China through directly shaping business growth strategies.  The position reflects the new organisational model announced in 2019 with Media under Peter Hujiboom’s global executive leadership.   Commenting on the appointment Hujiboom said: “In addition to core media planning and strategy expertise, the new structure of our media business will include critical performance capabilities such as programmatic, addressable, search, social and commerce.  These services will delivered by expert consultative teams, efficiently organized to be shared and leveraged across the broader business, Tony’s rich experience and position as an industry leader means he was the perfect choice.”

Tony has been with Dentsu Aegis since 2016 as CEO for iProspect and Chief Innovation Officer for Dentsu Aegis Network China.  He has a solid digital background in the Media and Performance business and a track record of outstanding performance in China, growing iProspect by over 250% since 2015 and outperforming the industry through organic client growth as well as new business wins.  He has successfully integrated two acquired brands Darwin and Same Same but Different and drove the acquisition of the ecommerce business EBP in 2019.

Michelle Lau, CEO Dentsu Aegis Network China, commented:  “Tony is an exceptional candidate for this role and I’m confident with his vision and leadership the media line of business will be well placed to deliver record success in 2020.   With his experience across Google, GroupM, Dell, eBay and Yahoo, Tony is one of the most experienced digital pioneers who understands how to navigate and succeed amidst the complexity of the China market.  He is a true collaborator and inspirational leader.”

Speaking about the appointment Chen said: “China’s media landscape is one of the fastest changing and most demanding environments for marketers.  Success comes from a deep understanding of what clients need and providing the most effective solutions to build brands and drive performance.  In this new role I’m looking forward to working with our brand leaders to ensure that as a group we continue to invest ahead of the curve, building the capabilities and expertise in emerging platforms that are critical to deliver sustained competive advantage for our clients.”