Dentsu Appoints Shirli Zelcer to Chief Data and Technology Officer

Dentsu (brand: dentsu; Head Office: Dentsu Group Inc.; Location: Tokyo; Representative: President and Global CEO Hiroshi Igarashi) today announced the appointment of Shirli Zelcer as Chief Data and Technology Officer (CDTO), sitting on dentsu’s Group Management Team. In this role, Zelcer will be responsible for all of dentsu’s client-facing data-driven, analytics and technology-enabled products and platforms, driving innovation and sustainable growth for clients.

Zelcer brings over 20 years of experience in analytics and insights, business advisory and organizational design, AI and data science, and cloud and marketing technologies. She was most recently the Global Head of Analytics and Technology at Merkle, where she led a global division of over 5,600 practitioners across the Americas, EMEA, and APAC. In her new role at dentsu, Zelcer will be responsible to innovate the vision, roadmap, development and commercial impact of dentsu's data and tech strategy across our three core practice areas: Media, CXM and Creative, working closer with Practice leads and Jean Lin, Global President – Global Practices, dentsu. The role will lead a newly formed team brought together from these Practice areas to drive consistency, interoperability and ultimately to deliver growth to dentsu’s clients through more unified capabilities.

“Innovation across data and technology are two of dentsu’s most critical points of differentiation, having led the market for many years in the development, adoption and application of proprietary platforms which give our clients the edge,” said Hiroshi Igarashi, President and Global CEO, dentsu. “We are very proud to appoint Shirli into this new strategic role which brings together our efforts across the organization, honing our capabilities and ensuring that dentsu and our clients remain at the forefront of innovation.”

The leadership of the broader Data and Tech organization at dentsu includes: Head of Product, Matt Seeley Sunil Rao leading Analytics, Peter Rogers leading Data Platforms and Shiva Vannavada as President, Data and Technology Solutions. DGS will also now report into Zelcer’s Data and Technology structure and in turn, Zelcer will report into Michael Komasinski, CEO, dentsu Americas & Global President - Data & Technology, dentsu.

“During her time at Merkle, Shirli brought together teams from around the world to collaborate on vital programmes, ranging from data infrastructure implementation to advanced media mix modeling, personalization strategies and the development of bespoke AI solutions,” commented Michael Komasinski, CEO, dentsu Americas & Global President - Data & Technology, dentsu. “With her vast experience of successfully partnering with clients, alongside a proven ability to solve business challenges with cutting-edge technology solutions, I'm truly excited to see the impact that Shirli will have in her new expanded global role at dentsu.”

“It is a very exciting prospect to move into this new role at a time when not only is dentsu at a pivotal moment in its history, but data and technology have never evolved at a faster pace,” remarked Shirli Zelcer, Chief Data and Technology Officer, dentsu. “As a group, we have already made some big moves into AI over the last few years, but I truly see the combination of AI with dentsu proprietary and partner technologies as a major differentiator for our clients. I’m looking forward to broadening the impact I can have across dentsu and working closely with the talented leaders and teams across our tech community.”

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About dentsu
Dentsu is the network designed for what’s next, helping clients predict and plan for disruptive future opportunities and create new paths to growth in the sustainable economy. Taking a people-centered approach to business transformation, we use insights to connect brand, content, commerce and experience, underpinned by modern creativity. As part of Dentsu Group Inc. (Tokyo: 4324; ISIN: JP3551520004), we are headquartered in Tokyo, Japan and our 71,000-strong employee-base of dedicated professionals work across four regions (Japan, Americas, EMEA and APAC). Dentsu combines Japanese innovation with a diverse, global perspective to drive client growth and to shape society.

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