He replaces Craig Dempster who has been a member of the Merkle executive leadership team for nearly 15 years and joined dentsu during Merkle’s acquisition in 2016

Dentsu International has announced that Michael Komasinski is to be promoted to the role of Global Chief Executive Officer, Merkle and a member of the dentsu international executive team. He replaces Craig Dempster who has been a member of the Merkle executive leadership team for nearly 15 years and joined dentsu during Merkle’s acquisition in 2016. Craig will retire from the business at the end of the year.

Michael will commence his role as Global CEO Merkle on 1 January and will join the dentsu international executive team, reporting to Wendy Clark. The new President, Merkle Americas will be announced in due course.

As Global CEO, Craig Dempster has played an integral role in driving Merkle’s culture, growth and profitability, and in building Merkle’s relationships with flagship brands such as AT&T, GEICO, Citizens, and AARP. He has also been a key leader on the dentsu international executive team.

Michael is a natural successor to the role and brings a wealth of experience having led Merkle across two of dentsu’s three regions. Joining Merkle 7 years ago as Chief Operating Officer of Agency Services, he went on to become President of Merkle’s Europe, Middle East, and Africa region (EMEA), leading a business of $400M+ in net revenue. During his four years within the EMEA business, it experienced 5x growth.

He currently serves as President of Merkle/CXM, Americas, and leader of the dentsu Customer Experience Management (CXM) Service Line in the Americas, overseeing all aspects of Merkle’s Americas regional operation.

Wendy Clark, Global CEO, dentsu international said, “Michael’s track record speaks for itself. He inspires and leads teams in developing impactful, data-driven and tech-enabled customer experiences while building lasting and values-based relationships with clients.  And he shares our collective ambition to become the most integrated agency network, delivering integrated solutions to drive growth for our clients across creative, media and CXM.  I know Michael is ready to progress this agenda at the helm of Merkle and will be a key leader for dentsu as we further accelerate our growth and momentum.”

Craig Dempster said, “I am immensely proud of what we as a brand have achieved over these past 15 years. Merkle’s growth and offering under dentsu is world class. Putting data at the heart of everything we do at dentsu is transforming our offer and ultimately providing our clients with a seamless and integrated experience to deliver outstanding growth. I celebrate and thank our people in helping to build one of the most innovative businesses in the world.”