Danny Bass tipped to become new Dentsu Media CEO
Danny Bass appears to be set for Dentsu Media, succeeding Sue Squillace after she resigned earlier this month.
Trade publication Mi-3 reported this morning that Bass is expected to be announced in the coming weeks by Dentsu, after executives at the company were informed this morning.
Bass returns to media agency-land
The move is yet to be confirmed by Dentsu, who again declined to comment on what it called “speculation”.
A spokesperson for Dentsu said the company would be in touch when it is ready to announce a candidate.
Bass stepped down from his role as director of business solutions at Snap last month – the second time he cited focusing on his wellness retreat as a reason for departing a role.
Bass was appointed into the role in September last year, only nine months later citing his personal decision to step down, as he co-owns a 75-acre retreat, Berry Hill Farm on the Hawkesbury River north of Sydney, which has been affected by floods twice in 12 months.
Dentsu is currently in market to fill several CEO roles, with national CEO Angela Tangas’ imminent departure to the UK and Ireland on the cards, with a successor yet to be announced.
Tangas replaced another ex-IPG exec, Henry Tajer
Bass was CEO of IPG Mediabrands in Australia until 2019, replacing Henry Tajer who moved into a global role. Tajer also had a short-lived stint as national CEO of Dentsu in 2019. Bass remained a board member of the Media Federation Australia until he joined Snap. He was also appointed chair of the industry’s social purpose organisation, UnLtd.
Prior to IPG Mediabrands, he was chief investment and intelligence officer at Group M.
Earlier this month, Mumbrella looked at the future direction of Dentsu locally, as it recently marked its intent last month at Cannes, debuting Dentsu Creative, which was closely followed by Squillace’s departure going public.
With the national group CEO role soon to be vacant and a previously reported search for an agency boss at Carat also underway, the group appears to be at a juncture point.
The network housed two of the market’s most dominant media agencies less than a decade ago in Carat and Mitchells. It has since refocused its portfolio, the former now its key agency now, with DentsuX and iProspect continuing to support it from the wings.
The direction, as outlined in the piece, appears to show Dentsu moving towards becoming a marketing services and CXM-focused outfit, moving away from its once strong media capabilities.
It remains unclear if Dentsu will appoint a Carat CEO, as previously intended, as the setup of the media side of the business is up in the air.
Got a tip?
Calum Jaspan was news editor at Mumbrella, based in Melbourne. He was also the producer and host of the Mumbrellacast. He left Mumbrella in May 2023.
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Thanks for the comment,
This is an ongoing story, and as indicated in the previous story it was speculated by several sources, rather than a confirmed report.
We’ll update you when Dentsu confirms its final decision on the multiple roles.
Cheers
Calum – Mumbrella
A song by the great band, Australian Crawl, overwhelmingly comes to mind. Oooh, oooh, oh, oh.. oh no not you again.
One of the classics!
Media agencies/groups really need to think differently and inject fresh talent with new ideas in to their businesses. Old is definitely not new again.
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No oops on reporting a rumour that Nikki Scriven was going to join Dentsu? It’s ok to report these things but then to pretend you didn’t and report another rumour from another publication without your own sources is just a poor effort.
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Agencies say: new challenges require fresh thinking. We can’t just repeat the past. We need new ways of creating value
Agencies do: Here’s someone from the past! This person would be perfect based on their track record 7-10 years ago.
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If an incumbent seasoned media trading executive proved not to possess the requisite strategic nimbleness to stitch together a fit-for-purpose 21st century communications offering, will replacing them with another seasoned media trading executive prove to be an effective solution?
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