Tag: Robert Gilby

Singapore – Rob Gilby is stepping down from his role as chief executive officer for Asia-Pacific at dentsu, the agency has confirmed to MARKETECH APAC when reached out to. According to dentsu, Rob stepped down to pursue ‘new ventures’.

“Rob Gilby has stepped down from his position as CEO, APAC, dentsu to pursue new opportunities. Rob has provided significant leadership across our markets, brands and practices in the region and as a member of the group executive management team as we transition to One dentsu,” the agency stated.

Dentsu also highlighted that during his tenure, Rob has fortified the leadership team, enhanced core capabilities and aligned with the new Group strategy to offer integrated, client-centric growth solutions from across dentsu’s practices. 

For the time being, APAC will be headed with the help of its leaders in the cluster markets through its Group Strategy Unit.

“As we search for a new APAC CEO, our leaders in the established cluster markets, powered by a strong regional clients, business and function team will work through the Group Strategy Unit, under the leadership of Yoshiki Ishihara, Global Chief Strategy Officer, with the full support of Global President & CEO, Hiro Igarashi, ensuring a continued client-centric approach and progress of the One dentsu performance and growth agenda. We thank Rob for his dedication and commitment to our organisation and wish him success in his future endeavours,” the agency added.

Rob joined dentsu in 2022 following his stint from Nielsen as its president for APAC for almost a year. Prior to that, Rob also held senior leadership roles for The Walt Disney Company and Turner. Outside of that, he also held advisory roles for the Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA), Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), and Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI).

Moreover, Rob is also the founder and CEO of consumer and media tech consultancy Blue Hat Ventures, as well as a founding partner of venture capital firm Reaction.

Singapore – Dentsu International has announced the appointment of Robert Gilby as the new chief executive officer for Asia-Pacific, effective on 5 September this year.

He will be responsible for unifying the APAC region’s 11,600 talented people in 18 markets around dentsu’s global ambition to be the most integrated network in the world. In addition, he has 30 years’ experience in the media and entertainment industry and has worked in Asia Pacific for over 25 years.

Gilby joins dentsu from Nielsen where he is president for APAC responsible for building relationships with key media owners, brands and agencies to deliver audience insights across the media ecosystem. Prior to that, he was CEO and founder, Blue Hat Ventures, an investment and advisory firm focussed on identifying and commercialising high-growth businesses in the digital media sector in Asia Pacific. 

He has held non-executive board and advisory roles at the Ministry of Communications & Information, the InfoComm Media Development Authority and the Singapore Media Festival.

In his new role, he will be based in Singapore reporting to Wendy Clark, global CEO at Dentsu International, and joins the Dentsu International Executive team.

Speaking on his appointment, he said, “I was instantly drawn to dentsu’s compelling vision with its rich heritage as the only holding company born out of Asia. It is a privilege to be leading this region with the world looking to the Asia Pacific region as its GDP growth is forecasted to remain strong, the emerging middle-class booms and rapid digitisation and investment in homegrown platforms leapfrog existing technologies.”

He added, “Dentsu’s ability to understand people better than anyone else and vision for horizontal creativity coupled with these market conditions creates an exciting opportunity for brands to thrive.”

Meanwhile, Clark commented, “Rob is an exceptionally well-rounded leader with a progressive approach that deeply understands the future of the industry and opportunities for growth, for our people, our clients and our business.”

She added, “Importantly, he clearly demonstrated his long-term vision, values-based leadership style and passion for building high-performance, diverse teams that is fundamental to the way we do business at dentsu.”