Dentsu International has hired Nnenna Ilomechina as its new global chief operating officer. She will join the company in May, taking over for the retiring Neil Gissler.
Ilomechina comes to dentsu from Accenture Strategy, where she has been managing director and partner, head of communications, media and high tech (CMT) strategy practice for the U.K. and Ireland since 2016.
Dentsu is tasking Ilomechina with driving and supporting profitable growth for the business globally. The internal role will also find her accelerating dentsu’s ongoing digital and organizational transformation efforts, according to the company. Ilomechina will work with global CEO Wendy Clark and the international leadership team to operationally unite dentsu’s capabilities across its three service lines—media, creative and CXM.
“Nnenna’s proven capability and rich experience leading transformative outcomes across digital, technology, media and business services make her the perfect addition to our global executive team,” Clark said in a statement. “She’s an exceptional leader with the rare combination of business savvy, operational know-how, cultural sensitivity and a deep understanding of people and their motivations.”
Empowerment and mentorship
Ilomechina joins dentsu with over 20 years of leadership experience, with a focus on driving digital transformation across digital, technology, media and services. Prior to Accenture, she was a senior director at AlixPartners, a performance advisory firm, and before that was a senior manager at Sapient. She has received accolades including being a senior professional services finalist at the 2020 Black British Business Awards and one of Cranfield’s 50 Women to Watch in 2019. She is a member of the development advisory board for Music Masters and mentor for Women in Cable and Telecoms.
Dentsu also stated that Ilomechina is a strong believer in empowered employees and is a longtime mentor of minority leaders; she will continue to do so at her new company.
“Wendy has set an ambitious agenda to become the most integrated agency network,” Ilomechina said in a statement. “I am energized by the opportunity to work together with the exceptional talent within dentsu, across media, CXM and creative to create an environment and operational infrastructure that will enable dentsu to seamlessly offer a truly integrated client experience, making our teams successful and delivering long-term value for dentsu.”
Ilomechina’s hiring follows several key executive hires by Clark, including Michael Komasinski as global CEO of Merkle, Fred Levron as global chief creative officer and Alex Hesz as global chief strategy officer.
Credit: Ad Week
