Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN) has announced the appointment of Narayan Devanathan to the role of the chief executive officer (CEO), DAN Solutions India. He will also lead the Creative Line of Business (LoB) for DAN India as its Chairperson, effective immediately. Narayan will continue to report into Anand Bhadkamkar, CEO, DAN India and will retain his existing role as Group Executive & Strategy Officer, Dentsu Aegis Network, South Asia.
As CEO, DAN Solutions India, Narayan will be responsible for unlocking expertise and developing leading practices to drive client-excellence in the market through integrated solutions. He will work horizontally across all Dentsu Aegis Network agencies in India in Media, Creative and CRM to build holistic, multi-capability solutions for our clients.
Speaking on Narayan’s promotion, Anand Bhadkamkar said, “As the advertising & communications landscape continues to change, it is imperative that we evolve to meet our client’s changing needs. An accomplished leader with over 20 years of experience, Narayan has been a long-standing contributor to the Network in India. He fundamentally understands our businesses and our one P&L model and has been working closely across all agencies to provide solutions for our clients. He has an intimate understanding of the clients’ ever-evolving needs and the flexible and dynamic requirements our brands must have to meet them.” It is pertinent to note here that DAN Solutions is built on three pillars – client-centricity, an expanded canvas for creativity, and operational excellence.
Talking about the opportunity in his new role, Narayan Devanathan said, “DAN Solutions is outcome-driven, on what we can deliver to clients; and that’s what we will relentlessly focus on. It’s especially relevant in these challenging times. DAN Solutions expands the canvas of creativity from advertising to experiences to business transformation, keeping data as the red thread throughout. What makes DAN Solutions truly unique is we have created an operating model that makes cross-functional teams want to collaborate, that builds trust and takes away the friction that renders such ‘integration’ possible only on paper. That’s how we bring the best of Creative, Media, and CRM to work for clients and add exponential value to their business.”
The Creative LoB, meanwhile, comprises creative agencies in the market and is in line with the global business strategy of streamlining and consolidating our offerings around the three Lines of Business: Creative, Media and CRM. As Chairperson, Creative LoB, Narayan will help the Network’s Creative Agency CEOs translate this global strategy for Dentsu Aegis Network into the India Creative Line of Businesses.
Dentsu Aegis Network India has several world-class brands and experience transformation agencies in its Creative business: Dentsu Webchutney, Dentsu Impact, Taproot Dentsu, Dentsu One, Dentsu India, Happy mcgarrybowen, Isobar, Fractal Ink Design Studio, WATConsult, and Perfect Relations. To create a competitive advantage for brands in the market, Dentsu Aegis Network has aligned the creative DNA of these different units under Dentsu Aegis Network India’s Creative Line of Business, giving clients a range of potent and unmatched partners for brand-led growth which Narayan will be driving.
Narayan says, “There is only one outcome we are focused on with our Creative Line of Business at DAN – to use the power of creativity to transform brands. Our goal is to become the go-to creative agency group that delivers brand and experience transformation in ways that are meaningful to consumers and valuable to clients. Putting creativity first is still the best way to do this. We have fantastic creative, strategy and business leaders in our Creative business, and we will together work to deliver this outcome.”
