Dentsu Group has unveiled a major leadership shake-up, with president and global CEO Hiroshi Igarashi due to resign next month. Igarashi will be succeeded by longtime company executive Takeshi Sano, effective March 27, 2026.
The move was approved by the Tokyo-based holding company’s board of directors and will take effect following its shareholder meeting on March 27 and a subsequent board meeting. The announcement lands just hours before Dentsu is due to report its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earning.
Sano currently serves as CEO, Dentsu Japan, and deputy global chief operating officer of Dentsu. He joined Dentsu in 1992, rising through the Business Produce divisions, becoming managing director in 2017. He later took on executive officer roles across business transformation, digital consulting and growth functions from 2021.
Sano's elevation underscores Dentsu’s emphasis on BX and DX capabilities, and the board’s intent “to strengthen our competitiveness by accelerating transformation under the new management structure."
Sano said his priority is to sharpen Dentsu’s role as a growth partner by tightening its focus on where it can have the most commercial impact for clients. He added that this push will centre on AI-led innovation and empowering talent across the network.
“That means concentrating our energy on the technology, markets, and capabilities where we create the most value and where our insights, creativity, and technology can genuinely shift outcomes for brands and businesses,” Sano said in a statement provided exclusively to Campaign Asia-Pacific.
Sano also paid tribute to Igarashi’s leadership and long tenure at the company. He thanked Dentsu’s teams worldwide for the “resilience, creativity, and commitment” through a period of significant change.
Igarashi’s departure marks the end of a four-decade career at the group, which he joined in 1984. He advanced through account management, governance and group strategy roles before becoming president and global CEO in 2022.
Igarashi also previously held positions including co-COO of Dentsu Group, president and CEO of Dentsu Japan Network, and vice chairman of the Business Group.
The leadership shift comes less than a month after Dentsu’s efforts to sell its international business were close to collapse, after major trade buyers and private equity suitors walked away from the process. Prospective buyers, including rival agency groups and Apollo, exited talks last year, leaving Bain Capital as the only remaining party in discussions.
More to come.
Source: Campaign Asia-Pacific
