Appointment strengthens dentsu's leadership as it accelerates its transformation journey and next phase of integrated growth…

Dentsu has announced the appointment of Ajay Gupte as Chief Operating Officer, South Asia, reinforcing its commitment to building a leadership team that will drive the next phase of growth across the region.

Partnering closely with Harsha Razdan, CEO, South Asia, Ajay will accelerate dentsu's transformation by advancing strategic priorities and strengthening a future-ready operating model. His leadership will be instrumental in translating dentsu's growth ambitions into execution. The appointment reflects dentsu's vision of Innovating to Impact and marks another significant step in building the industry's most integrated, client-centric and innovation-led growth partner, bringing together strategy, creativity, media, data and technology to deliver measurable business impact in an AI-powered world. 

As Chief Operating Officer, South Asia, Ajay will play a pivotal role in accelerating dentsu's transformation journey by driving operational excellence, enabling a more agile, future-ready organisation and strengthening collaboration across the network. Working closely with the South Asia leadership team, he will help translate strategic priorities into execution, unlock new opportunities for sustainable growth and enhance organisational capabilities. His mandate will focus on strengthening client-centric ways of working and advancing dentsu's ability to deliver connected Marketing, Technology and Consulting solutions that create lasting value for clients, businesses and society through its Business to Business to Society (B2B2S) approach. 

Ajay is an industry veteran with close to three decades of leadership experience across media, marketing, digital transformation and client solutions. Most recently, he served as President, Client Solutions at WPP Media South Asia and Chief Executive Officer of Wavemaker South Asia, where he led large-scale business transformation, built high-performing teams and strengthened partnerships with some of the region's leading brands. Over the course of his career spanning WPP Media, TVS Motors and OMD, Ajay has earned a reputation for combining strategic vision with operational excellence, helping organisations navigate change, embrace innovation and unlock sustainable growth. Recognised for his commercial acumen, collaborative leadership style and ability to lead through complexity, he has consistently delivered lasting business impact while building trusted relationships with clients and teams alike. 

Harsha Razdan, Chief Executive Officer, South Asia, dentsu said, “Dentsu is entering its next phase of growth with a clear ambition to build the industry's most integrated, client-centric and innovation-led growth partner. As our clients navigate an increasingly dynamic business environment, they need partners who can bring together strategy, creativity, media, data and technology to solve their most complex business challenges and deliver meaningful outcomes. We are continuing to strengthen our leadership and capabilities to realise that vision and provide end-to-end, integrated solutions that help our clients navigate change, seize new opportunities and create long-term value. Ajay's appointment is an important milestone in our transformation journey. His extensive industry experience, proven track record of leading business transformation and deep understanding of clients and markets will further strengthen our ability to execute our strategy, foster greater collaboration across our network and deliver even greater value to our clients. I am delighted to welcome Ajay to dentsu and look forward to partnering with him as we continue to shape the future of our business across South Asia.” 

Commenting on his appointment, Ajay Gupte added, “I am excited to join dentsu at a pivotal moment in its growth journey. The opportunity to work with a talented leadership team to strengthen operational excellence, unlock new opportunities and advance the company's ambition of delivering future-ready integrated solutions is truly exciting. I look forward to partnering closely with teams across the network to drive sustainable, scalable growth and create greater value for our clients.”