Dentsu International global CEO Wendy Clark leaving company

A varied resume

A well-known ad exec, she would seem to have myriad career opportunities, given her resume, which includes stints in executive roles at Coca-Cola Co. and AT&T. She has even dabbled in politics, taking an unpaid leave from Coke in 2015 to work on Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. Clark is also known to advocate for progressive causes, recently tweeting support for Stacey Abrams’ campaign for Georgia governor. Clark has traveled the world in her agency roles but makes her home in Atlanta.

In her prior role as president and CEO for DDB North America, Clark was credited with expanding relationships with clients including Conagra, Johnson & Johnson and State Farm. Most memorably she oversaw the creation of a bespoke agency for McDonald’s, We are Unlimited. But the account later moved to Wieden+Kennedy, and the agency was later folded into DDB Chicago. 

It appears that her exit at DDB was also sudden: In an April 2020 earnings call held amid the pandemic and some client losses, Omnicom Group Chairman-CEO John Wren referenced Clark’s leaving, saying, “We were a bit shocked and put off when Wendy Clark decided that she was going to move on in the middle of a crisis.”

Dentsu structure

Up until this point, Dentsu Group has operated two agency networks: Dentsu Japan Network, which has overseen Dentsu Group operations in Japan; and Dentsu International, which has managed Dentsu Group operations outside of Japan.

London-based Dentsu International, formerly Dentsu Aegis Network, has managed non-Japan operations, including former holdings of Aegis Media (the primary unit of Aegis Group, acquired in 2013). Dentsu Group in September 2020 changed the name of Dentsu Aegis Network to Dentsu International.

The company, long the dominant agency business in Japan, has invested heavily in the past decade to build a major international network.