Dentsu consolidates mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea operations under Greater North cluster

Less than two weeks after making global leadership changes and announcing new heads of creative, media, and CXM 'Global Practices' to replace what was previously known as 'service lines,' Dentsu has announced a major consolidation in the region. 

The agency has unified operations across mainland China, Hong Kong, Korea, and Taiwan under one management framework, which will now be called the ‘Greater North’ cluster. Consequently, industry veteran Jennifer Tang, the Dentsu Taiwan chief executive since 2017, has been tasked to lead the new cluster. 

According to the Q2 results revealed in August, APAC (excluding Japan) witnessed an organic revenue decline of -7.0%. Macroeconomic headwinds in China were predominantly blamed for a slower performance. However, both Taiwan and Hong Kong remained well-performing markets with organic growth reaching the low single-digit range. CEO Jennifer Tang's efforts in modelling the business closely to Dentsu Japan were recognised. 

At this point, the impact of consolidation at the market level is not fully understood, but Campaign learns that Tang will helm a leadership team for the Greater North cluster, and individual market leadership roles will be maintained while contributing to the cluster's activities. This team includes:

Simone Tam, the CEO of the Greater Bay Area, will now oversee Hong Kong, Guangdong Province, and Macau, while Chun Yin Mak, the newly appointed China CEO after Deric Wong exited in August this year, will continue as CEO of China.

Joshua Wong will step in as chief financial officer for the Greater North cluster. 

Donna Kim will lead Dentsu Korea as chief executive. She previously spent seven years at GroupM as managing director of Mindshare Korea and replaces veteran WooHyun Nam who exited the company after 17 years.  

The group will announce its Q3 results next week. 

Rob Gilby, Dentsu’s Asia Pacific CEO, believes that the new management structure will unlock fresh growth prospects for clients and the company alike. 

“Jennifer needs no introduction, she has won a number of accolades for her own leadership and the culture she has overseen in the Taiwan business while her teams have been recognised on the global stage from Cannes Lions to Spikes, Clios, Madstars and RECMA,” said Gilby. 

“She is a passionate advocate of B2B2S and Dentsu’s impact on the communities it’s a part of, living the values that are fundamental to the way we do business.”