MANILA, PHILIPPINES — When Wendy Clark joined Denstu International two years ago as Global CEO, it was at the height of the pandemic and with the task to bring back focus and create value at such unprecedented times. Now, with the restructuring of Dentsu Group Inc. which will bring its subsidiaries — Denstu International and Dentsu Japan — under one operation, Wendy departs from Dentsu after two years of leadership.
Last week, it was confirmed that Dentsu International’s integration into Dentsu Group, led by Hiroshi Igarashi and one management team, meant that the role of international chief executive will be dropped. This is part of the global reorganization initiative that Dentsu has been pushing in order to bring its Japan and international businesses closer together.
With this move, Wendy will be exiting Dentsu by December 31. “As the outgoing [Dentsu International] CEO, I will help with this transition through year-end,” she confirmed on her Instagram post about her departure. Starting January 01, 2023, Dentsu will be implementing the One Management Team structure under Hiroshi Igarashi.
She leaves the company after contributing much progress to its already rich legacy, which is particularly significant as she led Dentsu International during such a turbulent time that the entire industry was facing. “Against a pernicious global pandemic and an unjustified war, our team chose radical collaboration and instinctive generosity as the behaviors that would define and unite us,” she said.
Wendy also went on to detail the different achievements that her team at Dentsu has reached in the past two years, including significant revenue growth, employee engagement milestones, and awards. She acknowledges that there is room for more growth but is nevertheless proud of the progress that she and her team have made in the past two years.
“Make no mistake, this is progress not perfection. While we lead in certain aspects of our strategy, we have work to do in others,” she wrote in the Instagram post where she talked about her exit. “But this performance is ahead of our mid-term management plan and as such the time is right for Dentsu International to integrate into Dentsu Group, led by Hiroshi Igarashi and one management team.”
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