Dentsu Appoints Shigeki Endo as Global Chief Financial Officer

Dentsu Group Inc. (Tokyo: 4324; ISIN: JP3551520004; President & Global CEO: Hiroshi Igarashi; Head Office: Tokyo; Capital: 74,609.81 million yen; the Company and its Group companies are hereinafter collectively referred to as “dentsu”) announced the appointment of Shigeki Endo as Global Chief Financial Officer effective February 15, 2025. As a member of the Group Management Team, responsible for managing the entire dentsu Group, Endo will be promoted to the Group Executive Management, which is focused on handling executive duties.

Endo brings over 30 years of experience and is an established global finance leader. In 1994, after graduating from university, he joined ITOCHU Corporation. After working in New York for ITOCHU, he joined General Electric (GE) in 2000. At GE, he worked in internal audit, M&A integration, and Six Sigma process improvement for operating companies in the US, Europe and Asia. In 2011, he joined British American Tobacco (BAT), where he worked in the London Head Office and held positions as Head of Finance in Japan and Southeast Asia. He joined Accenture in 2018, and was appointed Managing Director and Japan CFO.

Since joining dentsu in July 2024 as Global CFO Designate, Endo has been working closely with Arinobu Soga, Director, Executive Vice President, Global Chief Governance Officer & Global Chief Financial Officer, dentsu, to promote the transformation of our business and management from a financial perspective.

As the newly assigned Global CFO, Endo will formulate and implement dentsu's overall financial strategy and strengthen financial governance by utilizing the wealth of experience and knowledge he has cultivated throughout his career, as well as the trust he has built up as a leader within and outside the company. He will also play a pivotal role in achieving the objectives of the new Mid-Term Management Plan 2025-2027 from a financial perspective, while working to sustainably enhance corporate value.

Endo will succeed Arinobu Soga as Global CFO, while Soga will continue serving as the Global Chief Governance Officer and focus on improving dentsu’s governance, an increasingly important foundation for sound management.

“Endo's diverse experience and extensive knowledge gained in the finance area of several global companies make him the ideal candidate to lead the global finance function of dentsu,” said Hiroshi Igarashi, President and Global CEO, dentsu. “In order to promote the new Mid-Term Management Plan and ensure dentsu's sustainable growth, it is essential to build a strong financial governance structure, as well as a financial strategy and optimal capital allocation that strongly align with our business strategy. I look forward to seeing Endo lead the financial transformation and play a key role as an engine of corporate growth in enhancing corporate value under dentsu's vision “to be at the forefront of people-centered transformations that shape society.” Working together with him, we will realize sustainable development for our clients and society”.

Commenting on his appointment, Endo said: “My appointment to Global CFO comes with a mission to support the growth of dentsu. It is a great honor to assume this position at a critical time when dentsu's new Mid-Term Management Plan 2025-2027 has just been announced. Since joining dentsu in July 2024, I have worked with Arinobu Soga and the members of the Finance teams to identify the Company's management and financial issues, examine and promote financial strategies to address these issues, and to strengthen the finance organization. While we have seen some positive results, there are still a number of challenges ahead.

I will strive to leverage the extensive experience I have obtained throughout my career to enhance our growth, while maintaining a big-picture strategic perspective and working productively with the Global CEO and other management members, as well as the versatile dentsu talent around the world. To this end, I will first accelerate the strengthening of our financial governance and build a solid foundation to achieve the targets of the new Mid-term Management Plan. I will also strive to communicate effectively with all of our stakeholders, both internally and externally, to gain their trust and to contribute to the sustainable enhancement of our corporate value”.

For other releases announced on February 14, please see the following link. https://www.group.dentsu.com/en/news/release/

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