# Dentsu Group Inc.
> Dentsu · TYO:4324 · Tokyo, Japan
- Profile type: Company
- Profile status: baseline
- Last updated: 2026-05-04T00:00:00.000Z
- Canonical URL: https://thestateofstreaming.com/companies/dentsu/
- Also known as: Dentsu Group, dentsu, Dentsu Inc., Dentsu International, 4324, TYO:4324, Dentsu Group Inc
## Summary
Dentsu Group Inc. (TYO: 4324) is a Tokyo-headquartered global advertising holding company founded in 1901 — the oldest and only top-five holdco outside the US or Western Europe. It operates through dentsu Japan and a cross-border network spanning ~145 markets including Carat, iProspect, Dentsu Creative, and Merkle. Takeshi Sano became President and Global CEO on March 27, 2026, succeeding Hiroshi Igarashi.

## Company facts

- Ticker: TYO:4324
- Founded: 1901
- Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan
- Domain: dentsu.com
- CEO: takeshi sano (https://thestateofstreaming.com/people/takeshi-sano/)


## Latest metrics

- Revenue: JPY 1,194.1 billion net revenue (FY2024); underlying operating profit JPY 176.2 billion
- As of: 2024-12-31
- Source: https://www.group.dentsu.com/en/news/release/pdf-cms/2025006-0214en.pdf


## Recent filings

- 2025-02-14 — FY2024 Consolidated Financial Results: Full-year results for the year ended December 31, 2024. Net revenue JPY 1,194.1 billion (+5.7% YoY); underlying operating profit JPY 176.2 billion (+7.8%); organic growth -0.1% for the year, +2.6% in Q4; FY2027 targets — 4% organic growth, 16–17% underlying operating margin, JPY 140B operating cash flow, mid-teens ROE; annual dividend per share maintained at JPY 139.5. (https://www.group.dentsu.com/en/news/release/pdf-cms/2025006-0214en.pdf)
- 2026-02-13 — Notice Regarding Change in Representative Executive Officer: Disclosure of CEO transition effective March 27, 2026. Takeshi Sano named Representative Executive Officer, President and Global CEO and CEO of dentsu Japan. Yoshimasa Watahiki named Representative Executive Officer and Executive Vice President, Global Chief Corporate Affairs Officer and COO of dentsu Japan. Shigeki Endo promoted to Director and Executive Officer, Global CFO. Hiroshi Igarashi resigns as President and Global CEO; Arinobu Soga resigns as Representative Executive Officer. (https://www.group.dentsu.com/en/news/release/001607.html)


## Key facts

- Takeshi Sano assumed the role of Representative Executive Officer, President and Global CEO of Dentsu Group, and CEO of dentsu Japan, effective March 27, 2026, following the 177th Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders. — Dentsu Group Inc. press release: https://www.group.dentsu.com/en/news/release/001607.html
- Hiroshi Igarashi stepped down as President and Global CEO on March 27, 2026 and transitioned to the role of Executive Senior Advisor; he had served as Global CEO since 2022 and joined the company in 1984. — Dentsu Group Inc. press release: https://www.group.dentsu.com/en/news/release/001607.html
- Dentsu Group reported FY2024 (year ended December 31, 2024) consolidated net revenue of JPY 1,194.1 billion, up 5.7 percent year-on-year, with organic growth of -0.1 percent; underlying operating profit rose 7.8 percent to JPY 176.2 billion. — Dentsu Group FY2024 Consolidated Financial Results: https://www.group.dentsu.com/en/news/release/pdf-cms/2025006-0214en.pdf
- Dentsu Group's FY2027 financial targets call for 4 percent organic growth, an underlying operating margin of 16 to 17 percent, operating cash flow of JPY 140 billion, and ROE in the mid-teens. — Dentsu Group FY2024 Consolidated Financial Results: https://www.group.dentsu.com/en/news/release/pdf-cms/2025006-0214en.pdf
- Dentsu Group has approximately 68,000 employees worldwide, with a network spanning roughly 145 countries and regions. — Dentsu Group — At a Glance: https://www.group.dentsu.com/en/ir/ataglance/
- Dentsu was founded in 1901 in Japan and is the oldest of the major global advertising holding companies; the parent entity is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market under code 4324. — Dentsu Group — Corporate Data: https://www.group.dentsu.com/en/about-us/data-location.html
- Dentsu's media-agency network includes Carat, iProspect and dentsu X; its creative network operates as Dentsu Creative; its data and CXM business operates as Merkle. — Dentsu — Our Agencies: https://www.dentsu.com/who-we-are/our-agencies


## Related

- omnicom group (Holding-company peer; competitor on global media and creative reviews) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/companies/omnicom-group/
- wpp (Holding-company peer; competitor on global media and creative reviews) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/companies/wpp/
- publicis groupe (Holding-company peer; competitor on global media and creative reviews) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/companies/publicis-groupe/
- iab tech lab (Standards-body counterparty; Dentsu sits on the Privacy-enhancing Governance Cohort (PGC) Leap initiative) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/companies/iab-tech-lab/
- takeshi sano (President and Global CEO) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/people/takeshi-sano/
- hiroshi igarashi (Outgoing President and Global CEO) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/people/hiroshi-igarashi/


## External coverage

- Dentsu Group Inc.: Dentsu Group Inc. — Investor Relations (https://www.group.dentsu.com/en/ir/)
- Dentsu Group Inc.: Board Members and Executive Officers (https://www.group.dentsu.com/en/about-us/leadership.html)
- 2026-02-13 — Dentsu Group Inc.: Notice Regarding Change in Representative Executive Officer of Dentsu Group Inc. (https://www.group.dentsu.com/en/news/release/001607.html)
- Dentsu Group Inc.: Integrated Reports / Annual Reports (https://www.group.dentsu.com/en/ir/library/annual.html)
- Dentsu: Our Agencies — Dentsu (https://www.dentsu.com/who-we-are/our-agencies)

## Profile
Dentsu Group Inc. is the oldest of the global advertising holdcos — founded in Tokyo in 1901, three decades before BBDO and JWT predecessors began consolidating into what would become Omnicom and WPP — and remains the only top-five holdco headquartered outside the United States or Western Europe. The group operates as two reporting halves: dentsu Japan, the dominant agency in the Japanese market, and dentsu international, the cross-border network built on the 2013 acquisition of Aegis Group that today encompasses Carat, iProspect, dentsu X, Dentsu Creative and Merkle.

Leadership turned over at the [March 27, 2026 annual general meeting](https://www.group.dentsu.com/en/news/release/001607.html). Takeshi Sano replaced Hiroshi Igarashi as Representative Executive Officer, President and Global CEO and concurrently took over as CEO of dentsu Japan; Igarashi, a 40-year company veteran who took the global CEO role in 2022, transitioned to Executive Senior Advisor. The same restructuring promoted Yoshimasa Watahiki to Representative Executive Officer and Executive Vice President with the dual brief of Global Chief Corporate Affairs Officer and COO of dentsu Japan, and elevated Shigeki Endo to Director and Executive Officer, Global CFO. The company framed the moves as accelerating "transformation under the new management structure."

The financial backdrop the new team inherits is mixed. FY2024 net revenue of [JPY 1,194.1 billion](https://www.group.dentsu.com/en/news/release/pdf-cms/2025006-0214en.pdf) was up 5.7 percent reported but flat on an organic basis, with the CXM (customer experience management) segment in double-digit decline against double-digit growth in Business Transformation. Management's FY2027 targets — 4 percent organic growth and a 16–17 percent operating margin — are the public yardstick by which Sano's tenure will be measured.

For this publication's audience, Dentsu shows up most often in two contexts: as the third-party measurement and media-buying counterparty on programmatic CTV and identity-resolution work (where dentsu sits on the IAB Tech Lab Privacy-enhancing Governance Cohort and Leap initiative), and as the holdco peer set against which Omnicom, WPP, Publicis, IPG and Stagwell are benchmarked on global media and creative reviews.
## Coverage on The State of Streaming
- ['Independent' Has Stopped Meaning Anything Buyers Can Audit](https://thestateofstreaming.com/opinion/2026/04/independent-adtech-stack-walled-garden-thesis-2/) — 2026-04-27
- ['Independent' Has Stopped Meaning Anything Buyers Can Audit](https://thestateofstreaming.com/opinion/2026/04/independent-adtech-stack-walled-garden-thesis/) — 2026-04-27
- [IAB Tech Lab's New Transparency Council Seats Holdcos, Not Brands](https://thestateofstreaming.com/advertising-adtech/2026/04/iab-tech-lab-pgc-leap-launch/) — 2026-04-26

## Tags

- holding-company
- advertising-agency
- media-agency
- tokyo-stock-exchange
- public-company
- global-network
- ad-tech
- TYO

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