Dentsu Aegis agency leaders retrenched during Singapore restructure
Three senior leaders at Dentsu Aegis Network in Singapore have been let go in rapid succession as the holding company aims to make a more “streamlined structure”.
The agency has recently retrenched Rohan Lightfoot, the managing director for Isobar Asia-Pacific, Shrivathsa Raghunathan, the MD of Vizeum Singapore, and Rosemary Lising, the MD of Columbus.
In a statement to Mumbrella, DAN said the retrenchments came as part of an effort to “harmonise synergies” between the APAC region and Singapore.
A spokeswoman said: “We have initiated a transformation programme to support our business now and for the future, and one part of this is to bring together regional and local market teams based in Singapore.
“We are building our brand around the growth certainty that every business will need a digital economy solution. Our digital business has evolved significantly in the past five years, so the transformation programme will create a more streamlined structure and harmonise synergies to give us the ability to build up our offering in the faster moving areas of our business.”
Lightfoot has been with DAN for the past 10 years, leading Isobar in China and across APAC for the past four. He was only promoted to the regional role last year.
Lising meanwhile first joined DAN to lead iProspect across the region in 2012. She was promoted to Asia MD for Columbus in 2015.
The changes follow a period of uncertainty for DAN’s media agencies. Vizeum recently lost the lucrative Marina Bay Sands account to OMD, while Carat currently remains on alert as a pitch for L’Oreal gets underway.
The upheaval also follows the premature departure of Carat Asia-Pacific chief executive officer Kevin Walsh, who was recently replaced by Jonathan Chadwick.
“Harmonize synergies”
ReplyOr synergize harmonies? Caramelize anemonies? It all makes the same amount of sense.
ReplyClassic [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]
Revenue down.
Find some senior people to [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]. Use the savings to prop up bottom line.
Mid and junior staff told to ‘step up.
Clients pissed off that a bunch of juniors leading the accounts.
Hire some senior staff again.
ReplyIt won’t make a difference, the senior [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]
All the digital expertise the networks bought in the form of ‘hot-shops’ has left or been diluted. Sing agencies are still 1[Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines].
Remember how that show The Wire ended, with the next generation entering a fubar system.
ReplyDon’t understand why anyone is upset.
If you [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines].
Replytranslate to: oh gawd why do i have to write this stuff that i dont believe in. NVM…i’m just gonna send it out but ask them not to put my name to it coz ultimately
“We have initiated a transformation programme to support our business now and for the future, and one part of this is to bring together regional and local market teams based in Singapore.
“We are building our brand around the growth certainty that every business will need a digital economy solution. Our digital business has evolved significantly in the past five years, so the transformation programme will create a more streamlined structure and harmonise synergies to give us the ability to build up our offering in the faster moving areas of our business.”
means cut cost. and i could have said in one line but hey! i’m getting paid for each sentence!
ReplyIt’s just a case of [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]. Mess. Fuck.
ReplySeriously, can someone slap the fuck out of adland’s APAC leadership, once and for all? I mean, like [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines], and we’re making this shake up sound like this is Mad Ave.
ReplyThat’s why I love Omnicom.
ReplyNetworks are now facing the brunt of the multiple silos created by themselves. First they hire a team to take care of every part of the silo and sub silos. Then they realise value is not being created. Might as well invest that money at operational or value creataion levels from the onset itself. A lesson for all holding companies, remain lean
ReplyJust a path to political ‘maturity’ or maturity of politics (shall we say?) within an org that has been steadily following the lifestages and footsteps of the “corporate” big daddy in the agency world called GroupM.
ReplyFair call if the senior agency leaders do not [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines].
If [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] they should immediately be left behind. Zero debate.
ReplyHonestly there needs to be fundamental changes to how agencies are structured and go to market. So many senior people in disparate roles not doing much, so much junior mediocrity, slim margins all round. These announcements are, as already noted, about cutting cost… doubtful there will be much if any operational impact… but the downward trajectory of the agency model in SG requires something a bit more radical than getting rid of expensive headcount. Also, can I just say that nothing DAN agencies or any of their ilk do is remotely difficult… it’s glorified general management, there is literally zero IP or knowledge capital in any of the agencies named in the article.
ReplyHow much should a CEO make these days in an ad agency?
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