Dentsu Nigeria has reaffirmed Africa’s innovation momentum with the appointment of Takeshi Sano as the new President and Global CEO of dentsu. A dentsu veteran with over 30 years of experience, Sano-san’s leadership signals continuity and stability at a pivotal moment in dentsu’s global transformation.
His appointment underscores dentsu’s commitment to client trust, integrated growth solutions, creativity, innovation, and people-centred transformation.
Welcoming the appointment of Sano as President and Global Chief Executive Officer of dentsu, dentsu Nigeria described the move as a positive signal, noting that it indicates stability and sustained momentum in the company’s global transformation journey.
Emeka Chris Okeke, the Group Executive Chairman and CEO of Dentsu Nigeria, said Takeshi Sano’s appointment represents continuity with purpose. “His leadership gives the network clarity and stability at a time when transformation must be decisive, collaborative, and deeply rooted in client value,” he stated.
Okeke further noted that Africa’s role within the dentsu ecosystem is not passive, but intentional—driven by entrepreneurs who understand the nuances of African consumers and are building scalable solutions from within the continent.
For Dentsu Nigeria, the announcement comes at a time when Africa continues to assert itself as one of the most entrepreneurial and fast-growing regions within the dentsu network. While global transformation accelerates, the African business remains focused on building solutions that reflect local realities and consumer behaviour.
Africa is not waiting for permission. Our region is already building, innovating, and leading on our own terms. Founded and driven by entrepreneurs across South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Mozambique, Uganda, Zambia, Tanzania, Ghana, and Francophone Africa, our heartbeat is African. Dentsu is our partner, but our strength lies in African ownership, accountability, and cultural intelligence.
Africa remains one of the world’s youngest and most digitally connected markets, with consumers who demand relevance, speed, and authenticity. In response, dentsu’s African operations continue to innovate locally, with platforms such as Merkury—re-engineered for African audiences—and COPO (Consumer in Your Pocket), both designed to address the region’s unique data, insight, and engagement challenges, with successful case study in the Nigerian market.
In Nigeria, these innovations are enabling brands to understand their consumers better, refine campaign performance, and accelerate growth in an increasingly competitive marketplace. The focus remains on solutions created by African talent, for African consumers, while benefiting from dentsu’s global scale and expertise.
As dentsu enters this next phase of leadership under Takeshi Sano, Dentsu Nigeria reaffirmed its commitment to building with intention—supporting clients, nurturing talent, and advancing innovation that reflects African realities, even as the global network continues to evolve.
Our purpose is ruthless and unwavering: to transform Africa through solutions built by African entrepreneurs for African consumers. We are bold, resilient, entrepreneurial, and scaling with intention. Africa is not waiting for permission, and neither is dentsu under its new global leadership.
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