Last 19th January the Board of Dentsu selected Toshihiro Yamamoto to succeed Tadashi Ishii as President and CEO of the Japanese multinational.
Born in Tokyo on 31st May 1958 and graduated in March 1981 in Economics by the keio University , Toshihiro Yamamoto could well add Dentsu to his Surname.
He joined the agency in April 1981, just one month after graduating and has spent his whole life since servicing Dentsu.
The agency underscores that he is the first President in the history of Dentsu who has led all three domestic business domains: Media Content, Account Services and Business Development.
A pure Dentsu man
After 18 years working in the Japanese communications multinational Toshihiro Yamamoto was appointed in April 2009 Director, Communication Design Center. Here he started off his leading career within the company.
In April 2010, just one year after, he added the position as Director, of the MC Planning Division to his responsibilities.
In April 2011, again just one year after, he was promoted to Executive Officer and Director, Communication Design Center. In June 2014 he was promoted again, this time to Director, Member of the Board, and Executive Officer. In January 2016 The Board selected him as Senior Vice President and yesterday he was appointed to succeed Tadashi Ishii as President and CEO of Dentsu.
Another two pure Dentsu men born in the 50’s
Both Shoichi Nakamoto (the new Representative Director and Senior Executive Vice President & CFO) and Yoshio Takada (the new Representative Director and Executive Vice President) are as well men professionally reared by Dentsu. They all have been born in Japan and in the 1950-1955 period as well, so the triumvirate is between the 66 and the 62 years old.
Nakamoto (the financial head of Dentsu) was born in the Fukuoka Prefecture and graduated in Commerce by the Waseda University, while Takada (Executive Vice President) got graduated at the College of Law, Nihon University.
Both joined Dentsu Inc. one month after graduation, Nakamoto in April 1973 and Niigata in April 1977.
As the new President and CEO they will take on their new roles on 23rd January.
Takada started his leading career in 2007
After joining Dentsu in 1977 Yoshio Takada was appointed in 2007 Director, Media Services / TV Division. In April 2009 he was promoted to Executive Officer and Director, Media Services / TV Division. He was selected as Senior Vice President in April 2013. In June of the same year he joined the Board as member. He has been selected as Director, Member of the Board, and Executive Vice President and last 19th January the Board appointed him as Representative Director and Executive Vice President.
Nakamoto the financial profile in the leading cuple
Shoichi Nakamoto joined Dentsu in 1973 and got to his first leading position as Director, Finance & Accounting Division at the end of 2001. He was promoted to Executive Officer, Finance & Accounting Headquarters in June 2006 and became Director, Member of the Board, and Senior Vice President in June 2009. In 2011 he turned from Senior Vice President & CFO to Executive Vice President & CFO and in 2013 he was again promoted to Director, Member or the Board, and Senior Executive Vice President & CFO. Last 19th January Shoichi Nakamoto was selected as Representative Director and Senior Executive Vice President & CFO.
The way ahead: Restablishing trust in the company
Tadashi Ishii took on as President and CEO Dentsu Inc. in 2011, just after the company got the special recognition as Advertising Agency of the Year at Cannes Lions.
The Japanese economy was showing signs that it was recovering from the recession caused by the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc., when the Great Earthquake which hit northeastern Japan on March 11th. The largest earthquake ever recorded in Japan caused the nation unprecedented damage, while a nuclear power plant accident shocked people around the world.
On April 1st, Tadashi Ishii was appointed Dentsu’s 12th president. The Dentsu Group, which counted 11,000 employees at the beginning of the 21st century, has evolved into a creative network comprising 20,000 employees in more than 100 cities worldwide. At the biggest turning point ever faced by the Group, President Ishii encouraged each of the employees to use his or her own diverse expertise and creativity with utmost energy to generate innovation that would bring wealth and happiness to the whole of society. In Japan where tremendous recovery efforts were ongoing, and around the world, which was becoming increasingly connected through social media.
In 2013, also under Ishii’s tenure, Dentsu Establishes a New Global Operating Unit, Dentsu Aegis Network Ltd. A new global operating unit, Dentsu Aegis Network Ltd., was established in London. Tim Andree, Dentsu Inc. Executive Vice President and Dentsu Network CEO, was appointed Executive Chairman of the Dentsu Aegis Network, and Jerry Buhlmann, CEO of Aegis Media, was appointed its CEO.
The establishment of Dentsu Aegis Network brought to yhe Group an unprecedent international expansion.
Dentsu has a leading market position in Japan’s advertising and marketing sector, an established presence across Asia, and an increasingly expanding business in North America. Aegis is rapidly growing its footprint across emerging markets, and has established robust positioning in Asia.
With the rise of digital consumption and client demand for digital services, Dentsu has successfully enhanced its
digital solutions over the years. Integrating Aegis, with Isobar and iProspect’s digital strengths in creative origination and performance marketing helped to achieve this goal.
The Dentsu Group now has a presence in more than 124 countries and employs over 47,000 professionals.
As well as a strongly internationalised company, leading its domestic market (Japan) that posted consolidated turnover at JPY 1,121,089 Mill from Jul-Sept 2016 (-46,086 less than in the same period ast year) and revenues at JPY 195,111 Mill (-5,613 against 2015) and gross profit at JPY 183,488 Mill (2,887 less than in the same period in 2015); JPY 25,347 Mill operating profit (down 2,767 against 2015). The profit attribuable to non-controlling interests reached the JPY 1,072 (613 down from 2015). And the profit attribuable to owners of the parent company were also down JPY 4,993 Mill to the JPY 15,366 Mill, compared to the JPY 20,359 Mill posted from July to September 2015.
The new triumvirate also inherits a company that has started to implant measures against stress by overworking since the succide of one employee by this reasons. And there’s also another scandal, Yamamoto, Takada and Nakamoto must face now, that of the irregular servicing in digital ads in Japan.
“My mission is to re-establish trust in Dentsu in Japan, and build a sustainable growth path for the long term. I believe it will become a reality with the improvements we are making to create a more flexible working environment where our diverse talents will thrive to help create value for our clients and professional fulfilment for our people.” This is the short and clear message of Toshihiro Yamamoto (incoming President and CEO Dentsu)
Image over the headline.- Tadashi Ishii (exiting President and CEO Dentsu) -right- and Tincoming President and CEO Dentsu Inc.). © Dentsu Inc.
