• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, October 14, 2016

Dentsu Aegis Network has appointed agency veteran Patrick Venetucci President, Operations and Integration for the US region. The post is new and he’ll report to Dentsu Aegis U.S. CEO Rob Horler. 

The appointment follows a major ramp-up in staff, which has doubled in the past year including teams aligned with five acquisitions in the past six months. It also comes amid what the agency termed “positive momentum in both new business and organic growth.” Recent wins include Clorox, JC Penny and a successful defence of its Diageo business, which helped to offset losses last year of Chase and Sears. 

Venetucci spent 23 years with Leo Burnett Worldwide, where in addition to client responsibilities for brands like Procter & Gamble, Philip Morris, and Samsung, he led corporate strategy, M&A, HR and enterprise technology as President of Global Operations.  

Venetucci left Burnett in 2013 to found MobileAngelo Group, a technology investment and consulting firm devoted to advancing mobile platforms. As part of that effort, he initiated a global roll-up of mobile-app development companies across 10 markets worldwide. 

Most recently, he was a leader of digital transformation at IBM. 

At Dentsu Aegis, Venetucci is charged with leading operations and driving continued growth and innovation across Dentsu Aegis US. He’ll also spearhead integration efforts for company acquisitions.

“As we work aggressively towards achieving our 2020 global vision of being a 100 percent digital economy business, our growth and success in the US is critical,” stated Horler. “Over the past 18 months the size, scale and makeup of our US business has evolved dramatically, and Patrick’s robust experience means he deeply understands how companies must operate to create client value at the intersection of creativity, media, data and technology.”