Dentsu announces a new era of leadership to build on current momentum and lead dentsu into the next phase of growth

DENTSU GROUP INC.

Group Corporate Communications Office 1-8-1,Higashi-shimbashi,Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-7050, Japan https://www.group.dentsu.com/en/

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 12, 2021

Dentsu announces a new era of leadership

to build on current momentum and lead dentsu into

the next phase of growth

• Toshihiro Yamamoto to retire from roles of President and CEO, Dentsu Group Inc., and Hiroshi Igarashi to succeed as President and CEO, Dentsu Group Inc., effective January 1, 2022
• Tim Andree to become Non-Executive Chairman of the Board, Dentsu Group Inc., effective March 2022
• The Board broadens its global experience and diversifies capabilities across industries through the appointment of four new Independent Outside Directors, effective March 2022

Dentsu Group Inc. (Tokyo: 4324; SIN: JP3551520004; President & CEO: Toshihiro

Yamamoto; Head Office: Tokyo; Capital: 74,609.81 million yen) today announces a new management structure and changes to the Board, to lead dentsu into the next stage of growth. The changes will support dentsu to achieve the goals of the medium-term management plan ending in FY2024 and drive continued sustainable growth in the years ahead.

Tim Andree will retire from an executive role to take on the role of Non-Executive Chairman of the Board, effective after the approval of his appointment as a director at the Annual General Shareholders' Meeting (AGSM) to be held in March 2022. This reflects a new management structure where the Chairman and CEO/President roles are separated. Andree's extensive experience with Japan-based multinationals and contributions throughout his tenure to expanding dentsu global operations make him well-suited to the Chairman role. His focus will be on driving collaboration, alignment, and continued sustainable growth.

Toshihiro Yamamoto, Chairman of the Board, Representative Director and President and CEO, Dentsu Group Inc., will transition the Executive Officer responsibilities of President and CEO to Hiroshi Igarashi, effective January 1, 2022. Yamamoto will retire from the Chairman and Representative Director roles effective after the approval of AGSM to be held in March 2022. Effective the same day, Hiroshi Igarashi will become Representative Director, in addition to his Executive roles of President and CEO.

1 / 11

,

Yamamoto, who has led dentsu for five years said his retirement comes at an appropriate time, following the diversification of dentsu which has included the completion of the integration of Merkle; the pivot to data, insights, and consumer intelligence; as well as overseeing the transformation of the business and a return to growth. Yamamoto has always been clear about dentsu's responsibility to society - "we exist to realize a better society by contributing to the growth of our clients, partners, people, and all consumers."

"These changes are designed to strengthen governance and advance the reforms and transformation that dentsu has established, to achieve sustainable growth and increase corporate value for Dentsu Group Inc. I have been the proud custodian of dentsu for five years and I am confident that Igarashi, Wendy, and Kuretani will lead our people, our clients, and our business into a new and exciting chapter of change," Yamamoto said.

Incoming President and CEO, Igarashi said he was delighted and honored to be appointed to the role and carry forward the strong legacy of an iconic global company with roots in Japan.

"We have a wonderful opportunity to continue building business in partnership with our clients, powered by our unique dentsu blend of creativity, innovation, and customer- centricity," he said.

Management of dentsu international (DI) will remain under the leadership of Wendy Clark, who has steered the business back to growth. Over the 14 months in the role, she has led the transformation of DI to become the most integrated network in the world through simplifying the business around clients and optimizing 160 agency brands to six global leadership brands.

"These changes will only reinforce the progress we've made and strengthen our vision to partner with our clients to drive impact for them, for their customers, and for society," she said.

Additional appointments

Norihiro Kuretani will step into the role of President and CEO, dentsu japan network (DJN); he succeeds to this position from the role of Director, Executive Vice President of Dentsu Inc. Kuretani will work to drive DJN's ABCDX strategy which focuses on positioning the organization as an integrated growth partner to clients. He has been a key figure in the digitalization of DJN, most notably serving on the board of Dentsu Digital. Over the past 2

2 / 11

years, he has played an active role in driving forward the DJN strategy which has included the increased stake in Septeni Group, this further strengthens the alliance to make it the most advanced digital marketing partner, for clients in Japan.

Under Tim Andree's Chairmanship, four new Independent Directors will be nominated at the March AGSM to the Group's Board, with four retirements also to come into effect. The new appointments represent a cross-section of leaders, across a broad range of capabilities including global corporate management, digital, finance and audit to reinforce the governance that is the foundation of future growth.

Dentsu Group Inc. also announced the appointments of Arinobu Soga to Representative Director and Executive Vice President (CFO) and Haruhiko Hirate as Executive Vice President (CCAO), who has deep experience working in global healthcare companies to drive their expansion.

"This moment ushers in an era of new leadership who will honor the unique strengths we have built in our over 120 years of operations while driving the continuous change required by our employees, our clients, our investors, and society," notes Igarashi.

At the AGSM in March the proposed Board appointments will be put to shareholders for a vote.

Summary of Changes

Nomination of Directors

The terms of office of 13 directors of the Dentsu Group Inc. will expire after the General Meeting of Shareholders to be held in March 2022. The following 13 directors are nominated for election to the General Meeting of Shareholders.

	Name	Position	Current Position
*	Tim Andree	Non-Executive Chairman	Representative Director, Dentsu
of the Board	Group Inc.
*	Hiroshi Igarashi	Representative Director	Director, Dentsu Group Inc.
*	Arinobu Soga	Representative Director	Director, Dentsu Group Inc.
	Nick Priday	Director	Director, Dentsu Group Inc.
	Wendy Clark	Director	Director, Dentsu Group Inc.
**	Norihiro Kuretani	Director	Director and EVP, Dentsu Inc.

3 / 11

**	Yuko Takahashi	Director	Executive Officer, Dentsu Group
Non-Executive Director	Inc.
		Director/Audit and	Director/Audit and Supervisory
	Izumi Okoshi	Supervisory Committee	Committee Members, Dentsu
		Members	Group Inc.
		Independent Outside
*	Gan Matsui	Director and	Independent Outside Director,
Supervisory Committee	Dentsu Group Inc.
		Members
	Name	Position	Remarks
			Outside Director at YAMAHA
		Independent Outside	CORPORATION (current),
**	Paul Candland	Director and	President of The Walt Disney
Supervisory Committee	Company, Asia and The Walt
		Members	Disney Company (Japan) Ltd.
			(former)
		Independent Outside	Independent Outside Director at
**	Andrew House	Director and	Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (current),
Supervisory Committee	Global CEO of Sony Interactive
		Members	Entertainment LLC (former)
		Independent Outside
**	Keiichi Sagawa	Director and	CFO of Recruit Holdings Co.,
Supervisory Committee	Ltd.(former)
		Members
		Independent Outside	CPA / Outside Director and
**	Mihoko Sogabe	Director and	Audit & Supervisory Committee
Supervisory Committee	Member at Mitsui DM Sugar
		Members	Holdings Co., Ltd. (current)

• New roles as director
• New candidates for director roles

Retiring Directors

The following six current directors will retire at the end of the General Meeting of Shareholders to be held in March 2022

Name	Position
Toshihiro Yamamoto	Representative Director
Shun Sakurai	Representative Director

4 / 11

Toshiaki Hasegawa	Outside Director and Supervisory Committee Members
Kenichiro Koga	Outside Director and Supervisory Committee Members
Etsuko Katsu	Outside Director and Supervisory Committee Members
Simon Laffin	Outside Director and Supervisory Committee Members

Appointment of Executive Officers

1. As the terms of office of all 11 executive officers will expire on December 31, 2021, the following executive officers will be appointed as of January 1, 2022.

11 Executive Officers (1 President, 2 Vice Presidents, 8 other Executive Officers) (effective January 1, 2022)

	Position	Name	Current Position
			Executive Officer, Dentsu Japan
*	President & CEO	Hiroshi Igarashi	Network, President & CEO,
			Dentsu Inc.
*	Executive Vice	Arinobu Soga	Executive Officer, CFO, Dentsu Group
President & CFO	Inc.
**	Executive Vice	Haruhiko Hirate	Chairman and Representative Director,
President, CCAO**	Juul Labs Japan Co.
			Executive Officer, Dentsu
	Executive Officer	Wendy Clark	Group Inc., Global CEO, Dentsu
			International Limited
**	Executive Officer	Norihiro Kuretani	Director, Executive Vice President,
Dentsu Inc.
			Executive Officer, Dentsu Group Inc.,
	Executive Officer	Nick Priday	Global CFO, Dentsu International
			Limited
	Executive Officer	Jun Shibata	Executive Officer, Dentsu Group Inc.
**	Executive Officer	Soichi Takahashi	Executive Officer, Dentsu Inc.
			Executive Officer, Dentsu Inc.,
**	Executive Officer	Masaya Nakamura	CEO Global Solutions, Dentsu
			International Limited
**	Executive Officer	Nobuo Uehara	Executive Advisor, Information
Services International Dentsu, Ltd.
	Executive Officer	Jean Lin	Executive Officer, Dentsu Group Inc.

• New position
• New executive officer

Note: The terms of office of new executive officers will expire on December 31, 2022.

5 / 11