Campaign Chemistry Dentsu Creative U.S. CEO Abbey Klaassen
Lots of change has marked the last two years at Dentsu.
A reevaluation of operations in 2022 kicked off a restructuring at the Japanese parent company that saw it eliminate the role of the international chief executive, then held by Wendy Clark, the departure of several other executives, including former U.S. CEO Paulo Fogaca and former global chief creative officer Fred Lavron, and the dissolution of creative agencies DentsuMB, 360i and Isobar.
Since then, the network has brought together its two subsidiaries, Dentsu International and Dentsu Japan, as one operation. Chief executive and president of Dentsu Group, Hiroshi Igarashi, has taken direct control of all four of Dentsu’s regions globally. And the creative shops that previously operated individually have come together under one flag: Dentsu Creative.
Instrumental to the shift is Dentsu Creative U.S. CEO Abbey Klaassen, who stepped into her current role in November 2023, transitioning from president of New York.
Before her appointment, she helped to build Dentsu Creative, which launched in 2022. Now, she is tasked with leading creative talent and direction in the U.S. as part of Dentsu Creative’s global and Americas executive leadership teams.
In this episode, Klaassen chats about her transition to U.S. CEO, her vision for Dentsu Creative in 2024 and what areas she is particularly focused on building.
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