MW BOLSTERS JAPAN LEADERSHIP TAKASHI AOKI APPOINTED NEW PRESIDENT OF MCCANN AND CRAFT

Tokyo—September 15, 2023

McCann Worldgroup Holdings Japan Inc. (Head office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director, CEO: Ji Watson) has today announced the strengthening of the leadership of two of its agency brands, McCann and Craft, with the hire of Takashi Aoki as the Representative Director, President of McCann Erickson Japan Inc. and Craft Worldwide Inc. effective October 1, 2023.

Takashi Aoki will report to Ji Watson, CEO of McCann Worldgroup Japan, and will work closely with the regional and global network to lead Japan teams in providing clients with meaningful solutions to grow their businesses.

He joins from his previous role as Managing Director of Media.Monks Tokyo and is an experienced strategic thinker with 20+ years in marketing, branding and customer experience. In the course of his career, Aoki has worked on a wide range of global and domestic brands including FMCG, luxury, cosmetics, tech platforms, automobile, tourism, pharmaceutics and F&B, across management positions in Dentsu Y&R Tokyo, J. Walter Thompson Japan and J. Walter Thompson Shanghai, Publicis Groupe and Saatchi & Saatchi Tokyo. Under his leadership, his teams have won many awards including Campaign’s Agency of the Year for Creative Agency, New Business and Production.

“I am delighted to welcome Takashi Aoki to our management team. His multi-market knowledge and expertise leading cross-functional teams make him uniquely suited for this role. I very much look forward to working closely with him and our existing leadership team, accelerating our transformation to become the irrefutable leader in the business of creativity,” commented Ji Watson, CEO of McCann Worldgroup Japan.

“I am very excited to take on this role leading McCann and Craft in Japan. Both agencies have a unique presence in Japan, being part of a global network, as well as having a deep understanding of the Japanese market and also a strong roster of clients. I look forward to continuing to develop creative and effective solutions that address the challenges our clients face in this rapidly changing world, working closely with the teams in Japan as well as the APAC regional and global teams.” said Takashi Aoki.

McCann Worldgroup, part of the Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG), is a leading global creative solutions company. The company is united across 100+ countries by a mission to help brands earn a meaningful role in people’s lives. McCann Worldgroup was named the world’s most creatively effective marketing services company by The Effie Awards for 2022 for the fourth consecutive year. The core McCann Worldgroup network is comprised of McCann, MRM, CRAFT, FutureBrand, and RafterOne, and partners with Momentum Worldwide, Weber Shandwick and UM to deliver solutions across the entire marketing spectrum.

In Japan, McCann Worldgroup is the leading foreign group having worked with global and Japanese clients since its establishment at the end of 1960.