Ad Giant Dentsu Names Jacki Kelley as CEO of Americas
December 13 2019 - 12:23AM
Dow Jones News
By Suzanne Vranica
Dentsu Aegis Network, a unit of Japan's Dentsu Inc., named
agency and media veteran Jacki Kelley as chief executive of its
Americas operations, succeeding Nick Brien, who has been at the
helm for almost 2 1/2 years.
A former top Bloomberg executive, Ms. Kelley, 53 years old,
joined Dentsu in March as president and chief client officer of the
U.S. operations. She will assume her new functions as of Jan.
1.
"Jacki is the whole package," said Tim Andree, executive vice
president of Dentsu and CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network. "In a short
time she has had a tremendous impact on the business," from her
leadership skills to her client-management skills to her strategic
expertise, he added.
Dentsu Aegis, while smaller than peers like WPP and Omnicom
Group Inc., includes many large agencies, including Carat, Isobar,
McGarryBowen, 360i and Merkle. It works on behalf of companies such
as Procter & Gamble Co., General Motors Co. and Microsoft
Corp.
Mr. Brien will continue to consult for the company. "I want the
right kind of balance for myself, my family and my career," he
said.
Ms. Kelley takes the helm of Dentsu Aegis at a challenging time
for agencies as they grapple with upheaval from the dominance of
Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc.'s Google. Marketers are also
cutting back on the fees they pay agencies, as well as hanging more
of their marketing in-house.
"Clients want fewer agencies solving bigger problems," Ms.
Kelley said. "You need to be in a place that has exceptional
capabilities and a model that allows you to bring together the
right assets on behalf of clients."
Dentsu has spent the past few years buying up many companies
around the globe as it sought to reduce its dependence on its home
market of Japan. Now the company, as well as its rivals, is looking
to simplify its offerings, as clients look for agencies to be more
nimble to better respond to the changes technology is having on
marketing.
Dentsu is trying to make it easier for clients to navigate the
services it offers. The company wants to be able to bring its
capabilities "to market much more quickly while delivering
integrated solutions, whether that is media, creative or
customer-relationship marketing," Mr. Andree added.
Ms. Kelley said data will play a key role in how the ad industry
makes it through this critical juncture. In 2016, Dentsu acquired
data-marketing firm Merkle for roughly $1.5 billion and has worked
to integrate the company.
Over the past two years, rival firms have also begun to buy up
data assets. Earlier this year, Publicis Groupe SA acquired
data-marketing firm Epsilon for $4.4 billion, while Interpublic
Group of Cos. bought Acxiom Corp.'s Marketing Solutions business
for $2.3 billion in 2018.
Write to Suzanne Vranica at suzanne.vranica@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 13, 2019 00:08 ET (05:08 GMT)
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