Dentsu International announces Phil Adrien as CEO, Creative in Asia Pacific

Dentsu International today announces the appointment of Phil Adrien to the role CEO, Creative, Asia-Pacific. In this role Phil will be responsible for leading dentsu’s Asia Pacific creative business, to deliver creative transformation and growth for clients. Dentsu's creative business in this region includes global agencies dentsuMB and Isobar, and regional and local agencies such as dentsu one, dentsu webchutney and Taproot dentsu.

Adrien will report to Ashish Bhasin, CEO, dentsu Asia Pacific and Jean Lin, Global CEO, Creative, dentsu international. In his new role, Adrien will be responsible for driving the regional growth strategy for dentsu’s creative business, in addition to his role as Managing Director of Creative group in dentsu Singapore, reporting into Prakash Kamdar, CEO dentsu Singapore. The appointment commences with immediate effect with the role based in Singapore. Adrien will partner closely with Merlee Jayme, newly appointed Chief Creative Officer in Asia Pacific.

Jean Lin, Global CEO, Creative, dentsu international said, “Phil is a dynamic business leader with experience innovating at the intersection of creative, media and digital to bring together brand and experience around the organising power of an idea. Dentsu wants to be the most integrated agency network in the world, and Phil’s expertise will play a key role in achieving this vision in the region. I am pleased to see entrepreneurial leaders like Phil rise to pivotal positions to drive transformation with our clients and for our businesses.”

Phil Adrien, CEO, Creative, dentsu Asia Pacific commented, “In speaking to clients, their ask of us is simple. They want breakthrough creative ideas and access to our best talent, to radically collaborate to solve their biggest challenges and to unlock opportunities to accelerate their growth. They want flexibility and speed to help them go to market with relevant content that’s informed by data and provides delight, value and utility to their customers. With our talented teams across the region and solutions such as Content Symphony, we are well positioned to deliver on this ask of our clients in APAC. I’m energised by the richness and diversity of our region, and the opportunity to dream loud with our clients, teams and partners to be a force for good and growth in Asia.”

Ashish Bhasin, CEO, dentsu Asia Pacific said, “This promotion is a natural step for Phil who has vast experience building strong relationships with clients in different verticals and markets across Creative, Media and Digital. He has continued to impress his stakeholders, delivering excellence and innovation for the clients we work with while having a deep understanding of how to nurture and get the best out of his teams. He will work in close partnership with Merlee Jayme, Chief Creative Officer, APAC, who together will be a compelling force driving our Creative reputation to new heights.”

This follows the recent announcement that Fred Levron has been named Global Chief Creative Officer, leading the network’s holistic creative agenda and its portfolio of creative agencies worldwide, and Merlee Jayme has been appointed as Chief Creative Officer in APAC. Dentsu’s creative credentials in APAC include being crowned Network of the Year at Spikes Asia 2021 and winning Network of the Year for the fourth consecutive year at Adfest 2020. In addition, dentsuMB Taiwan recently won a Cannes Lions Entertainment Grand Prix and dentsu Webchutney was the No. 1 agency from India in Cannes Lions 2021, having been awarded seven Lions.