Wendy Clark is leaving Dentsu International as holding company restructures

Dentsu International Global CEO Wendy Clark is leaving the holding company amid what multiple people cite as an imminent restructuring that will unite the international group she runs with Dentsu Group’s Japan-based operations.

Clark could not be reached for comment, and a spokesman for Dentsu in London declined to comment beyond this statement: “A cross-functional global team of our executive leaders has been working on our long-term roadmap for Dentsu. We have strong confidence that this will continue our progress in driving growth and making client impact. We expect to communicate more fully as we finalize this planning process.”

Clark, one of the highest-profile executives in the agency industry, will depart almost exactly two years after joining Dentsu from DDB. It amounts to an abrupt exit by Clark, who had pushed through major changes at London-based Dentsu International, including consolidating multiple Dentsu shops, including DentsuMB, 360i and Isobar, under the Dentsu name. During her tenure, Dentsu's global agency brands were consolidated from 160 to six and Dentsu Media went from 11 shops to four. 

Those consolidations were positioned as a way for the holding company to emphasize its Japanese heritage, executives said at the time. “This legacy inspired our vision for modern creativity that was born in Japan and raised in a connected world," Clark said in June during a Cannes panel.

But now, according to people close to the situation, Dentsu Group is preparing to consolidate into a single leadership structure, essentially eliminating Clark's position.

A varied resume

A well-known ad exec, she would seem to have myriad career opportunities, given her resume, which includes stints in executive roles at Coca-Cola Co. and AT&T. She has even dabbled in politics, taking an unpaid leave from Coke in 2015 to work on Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. Clark is also known to advocate for progressive causes, recently tweeting support for Stacey Abrams’ campaign for Georgia governor. Clark has traveled the world in her agency roles but makes her home in Atlanta.

In her prior role as president and CEO for DDB North America, Clark was credited with expanding relationships with clients including Conagra, Johnson & Johnson and State Farm. Most memorably she oversaw the creation of a bespoke agency for McDonald’s, We are Unlimited. But the account later moved to Wieden+Kennedy, and the agency was later folded into DDB Chicago. 

It appears that her exit at DDB was also sudden: In an April 2020 earnings call held amid the pandemic and some client losses, Omnicom Group Chairman-CEO John Wren referenced Clark’s leaving, saying, “We were a bit shocked and put off when Wendy Clark decided that she was going to move on in the middle of a crisis.”

Dentsu structure

Up until this point, Dentsu Group has operated two agency networks: Dentsu Japan Network, which has overseen Dentsu Group operations in Japan; and Dentsu International, which has managed Dentsu Group operations outside of Japan.

London-based Dentsu International, formerly Dentsu Aegis Network, has managed non-Japan operations, including former holdings of Aegis Media (the primary unit of Aegis Group, acquired in 2013). Dentsu Group in September 2020 changed the name of Dentsu Aegis Network to Dentsu International.

The company, long the dominant agency business in Japan, has invested heavily in the past decade to build a major international network.

Dentsu International (including its media agencies) last year had revenue less cost of sales of $5.1 billion, compared to $3.5 billion for Dentsu Japan Network (including media agencies), according to Ad Age Datacenter estimates.

Excluding media agencies, Ad Age ranked Dentsu Japan Network and Dentsu International as the world’s No. 6 and No. 7 consolidated agency networks based on 2021 figures.

The new move to consolidate networks comes one year after Dentsu Group in August 2021 announced a "comprehensive review and accelerated transformation program" intended to simplify its business, reduce operating expenses, improve its balance sheet and maximize shareholder value.

Ad Age Datacenter ranks Dentsu Group as the world’s sixth-largest agency company (behind WPP, Omnicom Group, Publicis Groupe, Accenture’s Accenture Song and Interpublic Group of Cos.).

The news of Clark's departure was first reported by Campaign.

Contributing: Bradley Johnson and Brian Bonilla