Dentsu MENA today announced that it has received its regional headquarters license from the Ministry of Investment and Ministry of Commerce in theKingdom, reinforcing its commitment toward Vision 2030, driving the transformation program, and supporting ambitious local talentAs one of the region’s largest media and advertising networks, dentsu already supports many of the government’s vision realisation programs, government ministries and portfolio of investment companies to bring the Saudi Vision 2030 to life for global audiences through a suite of integrated marketing solutions from media to creative and customer experience management. André Andrade, CEO of dentsu EMEA, said: “Opening a regional headquarters in Saudi Arabia is a strategic decision that demonstrates dentsu’s commitment to the Kingdom, our support of its transformation and confidence in its economic future. As we accelerate toward 2030 and beyond, we are fully committed to working with and supporting our stakeholders with the next phase of their transformation agendas.” Tarek Daouk, CEO of dentsu MENA, added: “I am delighted that dentsu MENA has inaugurated its new regional headquarters in Riyadh, and that we are the first of the major advertising holding companies to do so. We want to set the standard and help to build the regional headquarters ecosystem for the media and advertising industry. After more than fifteen years operating in the Kingdom, this is a natural step in our evolution where we aim to continue building longstanding, trusted and mutually beneficialrelationships with our clients, partners and people in Saudi Arabia.” With a rapidly expanding workforce of employees in Saudi Arabia, dentsu aims to become a significant contributor to talent development in the Kingdom. Fostering partnerships with the likes of Prince Sultan University, dentsu will expand its staff numbers over the next three years by recruiting Saudi graduates, with a particular focus on female talent, with the deployment of early careers recruitment programs, internshipand learning and development curriculums designed to accelerate gender diversity in leadership roles. Dentsu has also opened a new flagship office in Riyadh at Business Gate, from which it will service a growing portfolio of local and multinational clients in the Kingdom, building on its existing presence in Riyadh and additional office in Jeddah.

Dentsu announced the appointment of André Andrade as CEO, dentsu EMEA overseeing the integrated growth strategy and business execution for dentsu within the Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) region. Andrade joins the community of Regional CEOs overseen by Giulio Malegori, recently appointed Group Chief Operating Officer, Dentsu Group Inc.Andrade has been part of dentsu for nearly 20 years demonstrating a proven ability to drive growth and scale client relationships across EMEA markets. Since 2004 he has served as CEO, dentsu Portugal, CEO of dentsu Spain & Portugal and further assumed the responsibility CEO Iberia & Sub-Saharan Africa (IBSSA) in 2013.In this most recent role, Andrade significantly grew revenue and performance in the IBSSA cluster and delivered a successful acquisition plan that integrated ten operations across media, creative, content and data bringing new capabilities and talent to dentsu teams, delivering on a true one dentsu market offering. Andrade also overseas dentsu’s Client & Solutions Hub for EMEA, in charge of driving client-centric strategy for integrated growth solutions across the region.“André has shown passion and commitment to bringing together the best of dentsu and spearheaded innovation to deliver integrated solutions at scale,” said Hiroshi Igarashi, President and CEO, Dentsu Group Inc. “I am looking forward to working in close collaboration as we continue to focus on putting our clients at the center, and delivering a seamless, integrated experience, driving growth and competitive advantage.”“Having worked with André for many years, I have witnessed first-hand his commitment to leading teams, transforming businesses, and driving client growth,” said Giulio Malegori, Group Chief Operating Officer, Dentsu Group Inc.. “He has extensive understanding of the Europe, Middle East and Africa region which means he is well positioned to understand the diverse needs of our people, clients and consumers.”“It’s an exciting time to be part of dentsu given our uniqueness in the marketplace, sitting at the intersection of marketing, consulting and technology. We are committed to embracing client-centricity at the core of everything we do and the decisions we make,” said Andrade. “I am ready to take on this next opportunity with dentsu and look forward to working together with our 16,000 people across EMEA in delivering innovation and people-centred transformation for clients.”Dentsu will announce Andrade’s successor over the coming weeks.