Dentsu is overhauling its leadership after reporting a record A$2.9 billion loss. The holding company has also pulled back from selling its international business, and said that it plans to cut a further 1,300 staff in 2026, in addition to 2,100 job losses in 2025.
Longtime company executive and Dentsu Japan boss Takeshi Sano will take over as president and global CEO from Hiroshi Igarashi in March.
Dentsu said that Sano has driven strong growth at Dentsu Japan, which grew by 6.2 per cent in FY25.
“Amid rapid shifts in our business and competitive environment, we continue to thoughtfully evolve our leadership approach and management practices to support the pace of our transformation and strengthen execution, all while maximising our contribution to client growth,” Sano said.
“Dentsu will continue to sharpen the distinctive value that sets us apart and position ourselves as a true growth partner, supporting clients consistently from strategy through to execution. By creating momentum for our clients, partners, people, and society, we will reinforce trust with stakeholders and steadily advance the sustainable enhancement of our corporate value.”
As part of the leadership restructure, Dentsu has gotten rid of its global COO and president roles. Regional CEOs and practice leaders will now report directly to Sano.
Dentsu has been trying to sell its international business for several months. Aside from Japan, Dentsu International reported declines across other regions, including a 3 per cent drop in the Americas, 1.8 per cent in EMEA and 6.8 per cent in APAC.
Although organic growth was down by 6.8 per cent in APAC, it grew by 0.3 per cent in the fourth quarter.
Among a slew of announcements over the weekend, Dentsu said that it would no longer pursue a sale of its international business.
In Australia, Dentsu’s chief executive Rob Harvey recently told B&T that he is confident the holding company can turn around its fortunes.
“It has been a challenging couple of years, but I think there’s real optimism in the culture and a growing sense of confidence,” he said at the time. “The work that we’ve done in the last three months in particular, and building that confidence and belief and connecting the culture is really paying dividends.
“I am confident that we’ve seen the bottom of the downturn within our revenue and we’re seeing really positive optimism in our revenue forecast going forward. So Q4 will be strong for us, and we see positivity going into next year.”
