Dentsu Aegis names new CEO and VP

DENTSU Aegis Network Malaysia has announced the appointments of Michelle Ong as CEO and Atsushi Kurokawa as vice-president of Dentsu One in Malaysia.

Their appointments are effective January 2018.

Orchestrating these strategic appointments, Nicky Lim, CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network Malaysia, said in a statement: “We’re moving into 2018 with considerable momentum. We have a good track record of new businesses and these appointments, along with several other executive leadership changes made earlier within the group, have given us a stronger management team.

“Alongside Kurokawa, we welcome Ong and the potential she holds that will unlock many more opportunities for Dentsu One, and further strengthen Dentsu Aegis Network’s creative capabilities.”

With 25 years of experience in advertising, Ong started out as a rookie account executive at Grey Group, followed by Ogilvy & Mather and Leo Burnett. She then steadily rose through the ranks to become general manager of McCann Worldgroup Malaysia, and subsequently managing director of McCann Worldgroup in Indonesia.

Later on, she spent a year as head of brands at Proton Bhd, before re-joining the advertising world as chief operating officer of Leo Burnett Group Malaysia, a position she has held for the past five years.

Joining Ong at the top is Kurokawa, a director in Dentsu Inc, Japan with 25 years of international experience in advertising. He spent 10 years specialising in global sports marketing, while another 15 years in global creative and marketing business development.