Le Thierry: co-founded Vizeum in
Vizeum global president and co-founder Thomas Le Thierry has been promoted to EMEA chief executive, media, of Dentsu Aegis Network.
Reporting to Peter Huijboom, global chief executive, media and global clients, and Giulio Malegori, EMEA chief executive, Le Thierry will remain in his current role until March. After that, he will transition into the new position, with a completion date of 1 October. Dentsu Aegis plans to have filled the Vizeum vacancy by then.
His appointment comes as Dentsu Aegis realigns its business under three segments: media, creative and CRM. It is a move designed to create consistency and an “easy-to-navigate, integrated solutions offering for clients”.
Le Thierry will become responsible for managing and growing Dentsu Aegis EMEA’s client base and spearheading the new model’s media line.
Dentsu Aegis is facing a period of management upheaval in the UK. About 9% of its estimated 4,000 UK staff are being impacted by a restructuring process, announced just days before Christmas, with a consultation having kicked off this month.
Le Thierry joined Aegis Media in 1995, before co-founding Vizeum in 2003. He has led the agency for the past seven years, helping to build annual revenues to about $360m (£276m) and its presence to more than 60 markets.
Huijboom said: “Thomas’ appointment comes at a transformational time for our business. Our new business model will ensure global consistency and an easy-to-navigate, integrated solutions offering for our clients. Thomas brings with him remarkable leadership within the media landscape, with a sharp client focus, and will ensure delivery of our world-class services across the EMEA region.”
Le Thierry added: “I am incredibly excited to lead our media operations across EMEA. While European-based clients are becoming global champions in many sectors, media agency groups need to lead from this region as much as from the US or Asia.
“Europe is also paving the way in the space of data privacy, innovation and sustainability. This will be core to our industry in the future. At the same time, I look forward to seeing how the Middle East and Africa will drive global transformation and business growth in the next decade.”