Dentsu Media’s Americas CEO Doug Rozen exits amid reorg that will shift 1,000 U.S. staffers into different departments

Dentsu Media Americas CEO Doug Rozen is leaving the company as part of a larger reorganization that will shift approximately 1,000 Dentsu U.S. staffers into different departments within the holding company. That number accounts for less than 10% of Dentsu’s U.S staff, a company spokeswoman said. Rozen, who is set to depart by the end of the week, held the role for over four years and was previously chief media officer for 360i before it was merged into Dentsu Creative in June 2022. “We are grateful for Doug's contributions and hard work over the last couple of years and we wish him well,” said Michael Komasinski, who holds the dual roles of CEO Dentsu Americas and global CEO of Merkle. “What led to that decision was just the need to reset the business and have the opportunity to reshape it in a little more of a hands-on way.” More agency news: Mark Penn on Stagwell lowering its guidance Dentsu is currently searching for a replacement to fill the Media Americas CEO role. Rozen declined to comment. Rozen’s move is part of a much larger realignment orchestrated under Komasinski, who became Dentsu Americas CEO in July. He succeeded Jacki Kelley, who left to join Interpublic Group of Cos. as VP, chief client officer and chief business officer. Ad Age Small Agency Awards See all of the 2023 winners Click here Under the reorganization, Dentsu will unify Merkle’s media capabilities under iProspect. As a result, Liz Rutgersson will become North America CEO of iProspect. She most recently served as Merkle’s chief media officer, a role that will no longer exist as part of the merger. Danielle Gonzales, who previously held the North America CEO role at iProspect, becomes chief growth officer of Dentsu Americas, a newly created position. The combination will create a more “holistic approach to digital media and performance planning,” for iProspect, Komasinski said. Look back: Dentsu unites creative shops in sweeping reorganization Dentsu's performance creative businesses will now report to Dentsu Creative rather than Dentsu's media brands. The performance creative offering will be co-led by Amy Thorne, executive VP, performance creative business Lead at Merkle, and Octavio Maron, exec VP and head of creative and content for Dentsu Media. The moves will not come with staff cuts, according to Komasinski, who admitted there could be some “efficiencies” changes made as the mergers proceed. Komasinski also said no agency names will change. Dentsu Creative has “done a good job getting their insight-driven platform idea positioning right and now that they're winning in the marketplace again, they really need the ability to extend those creative concepts and campaigns into technology-enabled spaces on the customer journey.” This includes content production optimization capabilities brought on by Tag, which Dentsu acquired from private equity firm Advent International in March. The holding company is also bolstering its analytics practice under Merkle, combining analytics teams from across Dentsu's CXM, media and creative offerings. This practice will be led by Shirli Zelcer, global head of analytics and data platforms at Merkle. “I've been with the business a long time,” said Komasinski, who has been with Dentsu for more than eight years. “I come into this role with a pretty deep understanding of the business and the different capabilities that we have. I think that gives me a chance as a relatively new leader to make some pretty substantive changes pretty quickly. In fact, a few things that I have thought maybe we should have done for some time.” There are several reasons for the changes, according to Komasinski. One was a need for more technology capabilities and a “business transformation and performance mindset” within certain agency offerings. Another reason was to create less overlap among its agencies. “When [Merkle] has performance media in it and performance creative, it starts to look like a holding company within the holding company,” Komasinski said. Currently, Merkle has 15,000 employees just in the U.S. (Dentsu is based in Japan.) “Some of these moves also have the benefit of making the Merkle brand a little more streamlined, and allowing it to focus on its core mission of technology-enabled customer experience transformation,” he added. Ad Age Agency Report 2023 Revenue, listings and analysis for agencies and agency companies Read more here Overall, Komasinski said he is looking for these moves to held differentiate Dentsu in a “flat” advertising market. Dentsu has seen the effect of clients navigating a tough economy, especially in the tech and financial services sector, Komasinski said. Other holding companies such as WPP, IPG, Stagwell and S4 Capital have shared the same reasoning for adjusting their organic revenue guidance for the year. In the first quarter of the year, Dentsu Americas posted a 4.9% decline in organic revenue. Currently, Dentsu is working on a three-year plan, according to Komasinski, who said the goal for its Americas region is to get back to positive organic growth “as soon as possible.”

Dentsu Media’s Americas CEO Doug Rozen exits amid reorg that will shift 1,000 U.S. staffers into different departments

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