Dentsu promotes Prerna Mehrotra to APAC media CEO

Dentsu International APAC has promoted Prerna Mehrotra to the role of CEO of media for APAC. She will report to Ashish Bhasin, CEO of Dentsu APAC, and Peter Huijboom, global CEO for media and global clients.

This marks Mehrotra's second promotion in a year, after she stepped up 12 months ago to oversee the media business following the departure of Audrey Kwah, the former executive team member and executive director of Dentsu's APAC media group, who left in the end of March "to pursue other opportunities." 

Mehrotra's new role is in addition to her current responsibility as managing director of the media group in Singapore, a role in which she reports to Prakash Kamdar, CEO of Dentsu Singapore. Mehrotra will be responsible for driving Dentsu’s global media strategy and delivery in APAC and developing a portfolio of tools and capabilities to maximise the effectiveness, relevance and performance of client’s media, the company said.

Mehrotra has been overseeing brands such as iProspect, Carat, Vizeum, Amplifi, Amnet and Posterscope, which were restructured two years ago to eliminate most APAC CEO roles in favour of one Singapore-led media group. 

Her promotion marks the continued leadership movement at Dentsu's APAC media unit.

After the January 2019 restructuring, former Carat APAC CEO Jonathan Chadwick was initially tapped for the job with support from Dentsu X's Phil Adrien, but left barely three months later. By the end of March that year, Kuah was then tapped to fill the role, again with help from Adrien.  

Mehrotra, who was known for delivering on regional cost commitments across key clients for Dentsu International after she joined as investment head in 2016, later became Carat's chief client officer. 

“(Mehrotra's) integrated view across our media portfolio and her acumen of over 20+ years sets her apart from the rest,” Bhasin said in a release.

Huijboom added that her experience in key markets including India and China and her long-standing client relationships will ensure the company continues to drive value and excellence.

Mehrotra, meanwhile, said the media landscape in the region has never been more complex, and consumer demands of what brands produce and how they behave has changed rapidly. "I am excited to be working with top talents from across our markets to create growth opportunities and long-term value for our clients," she said.