dentsu Japan CEO Sano on the Current State of Corporate Culture Transformation

dentsu Japan: Supporting Corporate Growth and Transformation Across Diverse Fields

Mr. Sano began by introducing dentsu Japan's vision of becoming a "True Integrated Growth Partner." "Our goal is to become a unique entity that unleashes the growth and capabilities of each and every employee, multiplying individual strengths to jointly create growth and vitality for society and our clients. As a company with almost no fixed assets like factories, our employees are our greatest asset.By creating an environment where all employees can fully utilize their abilities, we strive daily to drive transformation for our clients, partners, and society."

Within the globally operating Dentsu Group, dentsu Japan employs approximately 23,000 people, accounting for about 40% of the group's total workforce. It operates not only in advertising but also across three domains: marketing, business transformation, and sports & entertainment.It supports the growth and transformation of the entire customer value chain, from management to business, marketing, organizational HR, and IT/digital domains. Gross profit from non-advertising areas accounts for about 40% and continues to expand. "We also aim to contribute to customer growth by broadly providing AI products and solutions for organizational and marketing transformation in the AI domain," he said.

Expanding Creativity and Transformation with the Power of "AI × People"

The conversation then shifted to the main theme: "Proactive Corporate Culture."Mr. Sano pointed to a misalignment in the direction of effort within individual companies as one reason for Japan's three decades of stagnant economic growth. "Everyone was working hard every day, but their efforts weren't pointing in the same direction. This caused growth opportunities to cancel each other out. Additionally, an excessive focus on the domestic market was likely another factor," he shared. However, Mr. Sano continued, there is hope.

"I see opportunities in the increasing mobility of talent through job changes and the presence of AI amid a shrinking working-age population. Take documents, for example: in Japan, they are precise and neatly formatted. Yet, this 'domain of correct formatting' is precisely where AI excels. If we can entrust such tasks to AI and channel human energy into innovation and creativity, it could become a foothold for business growth," said Sano.

Regarding AI, he noted its potential extends beyond operational efficiency to idea generation."Its appeal lies in its applicability even in areas demanding numerous ideas, such as marketing, creative work, and business transformation. However, for the process of carefully selecting and refining ideas, I believe the ideal approach is to leverage the combined strengths of both humans and AI," he stated, emphasizing that amid a shrinking working-age population, AI should be actively integrated into various business activities.

While AI is expected to be utilized across a wide range of fields, Sano states that it is difficult for AI alone to guide employees and transform corporate culture.

"Humans are moved by people and the things people create, which drives our actions. I believe the work of moving people's hearts will remain a domain that humans should shoulder. I also believe that within the Dentsu Group, we will see an increase in personnel possessing such capabilities," said Sano.

When asked about the ideal candidate for dentsu Japan, he maintained the company's consistent stance: "We want diverse people to join us, as always." However, he also suggested, "We want people who can work with colleagues, bring out the best in each other, take on challenges, and aim for success. We want people who can achieve what AI cannot."

The discussion then turned to methods for cultivating innovative talent and training systems. "It's crucial to focus on the individual's desire to 'do it,' not force it, and to thoroughly support motivated people," he stated. "dentsu Japan's group training is designed as a space where everyone can think about what they want to do, their future, and the future of dentsu, discuss these ideas, and inspire each other."

AI was a focal point of this discussion. Dentsu Japan is already utilizing AI extensively in various practical scenarios—for market analysis, idea generation, insight discovery, and ad copy creation—while having humans refine the output.

Mr. Sano concluded the discussion by sharing his vision for the future: "Innovation and corporate culture are extremely important themes for the coming era, yet they are also challenging. By multiplying the power of AI with the power of us humans, I want to work with everyone to transform our corporate culture and make the future business landscape a better place."

Was this article helpful?

6

Share this article

Author

Sano Suguru

dentsu Japan CEO / President and Representative Director, Dentsu Inc.

After joining Dentsu Inc., spent many years in the sales division handling client business. Appointed as Dentsu Inc. Executive Officer in January 2021. From January 2022, served as Dentsu Inc. Executive Officer (Business Production Division Head) and Dentsu Group Dentsu Japan Network (now dentsu Japan) Executive Officer (BX/DX Consulting & Growth Officer Division Head). From January 2023, in addition to overseeing domestic operations (dentsu Japan and Dentsu Inc.), concurrently served as Group Executive Management at Dentsu Group and CEO of Global Business Transformation (BX). From 2024, assumed the role of CEO of dentsu Japan and Representative Director, President and CEO of Dentsu Inc.

Learn more about this author

Series

Breakthrough Thinking: Driving Transformation Across Companies and IndustriesXplorers2025 Report

Articles by this person

dentsu Japan CEO Sano on the Current State of Corporate Culture Transformation

[Special Discussion] The Future of the Content Business and "Beyond"