Dheeraj Raina, former managing director of Mindshare, has been appointed as dentsu Malaysia’s (formerly dentsu Aegis Network), Media CEO today. Dheeraj will be replacing head of media brands, Yap Chee Weng who will be moving on after spending nine years with the agency.

“It’s been a fulfilling 9 years from starting dentsu Malaysia in 2012 and seeing transform it into the fastest growing media agency in Malaysia,” Chee Weng said. “I’m honored to have been given the opportunity to contribute to the industry through my position as chairman Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) for one year and as president of the Media Specialists Association (MSA) for four years – both of which have thought me an incredible amount.”

Dheeraj’s appointment follows dentsu international’s new brand evolution and business model of integrating key capabilities, technology, and investment functions within three lines of businesses established in Creative, Media, and CRM.

“I’m thrilled to have this exciting opportunity to lead all the media brands at dentsu malaysia –  Consider iProspect, Vizeum, Carat, dentsu X, Amplifi, Posterscope, and Amnet – towards being more solutions-oriented, integrated and leading the industry,” Dheeraj said. “Today, media agencies sit at the centre of unlocking growth for clients and with such power brands at dentsu, I am looking forward to building cutting-edge solutions and teams.” 

Dheeraj comes with more than 16 years of driving growth through powerful and industry-leading capabilities. Prior to Mindshare, he worked with leading brands such as Celcom, Friesland-Campina, Digi, Tesco, Sunway and Kimberly-Clark. 

“It’s fantastic to welcome Dheeraj as our new Media CEO and drive our ambitious business growth plans forward,” commented CEO of dentsu Malaysia, Nicky Lim. “With his impressive track record of growth, I have no doubt he will accelerate dentsu international onto an exciting path and ultimately, help us deliver on our business objectives.” 

On a regional level, dentsu international APAC has appointed Prerna Mehrotra for the role of CEO of media for APAC.

Prerna will report to Ashish Bhasin, CEO of dentsu APAC, and Peter Huijboom, global CEO for media and global clients.