Carat CEO Michael Epstein to lead Dentsu Aegis media brands, products

Carat Global CEO Michael Epstein is taking on the addtional role of chief executive for Dentsu Aegis Network's media brands and products, effective immediately.

In the newly created position, Epstein will oversee Carat, iProspect, Vizeum, dentsuX and Posterscope, focusing on the portfolio strategies of the media agencies, as well as their individual areas of expertise.

"He will look at how the brands are differentiated on their own and how they come together to create integrated solutions for clients," said Robert Schwartz, CMO of Carat US.

Epstein, who was elevated from US CEO to global chief exec of Carat in 2019, will continue to report to Peter Huijboom, global CEO for media and global clients.

In addition to his responsibilities for the media agency portfolio, Epstein will make sure the group's products are being "consistently delivered at scale around the world in regulatory-compliant and relevant ways to drive human understanding of media consumption for our brands," Schwartz told Campaign US.

He added that CMOs today want their agencies’ offerings to be as accessible and simplified as possible, which is one of the reasons why Dentsu Aegis Network decided to create this new post within the group.

According to a statement from Epstein: "We have a remarkable set of media brands and assets at Dentsu. Bringing them all to life in a more integrated and less complicated way is exactly what our clients need and want so we can maximize the impact we deliver for them."

Another motive behind the development of Epstein’s brand and product role is for Dentsu Aegis to help global, brand-oriented clients become more accountable in performance, as well as to help DTC-based brands move upward in brand-building.