DAN’s CEO Henry Tajer is ousted after less than a year in the role, replaced by Angela Tangas
The Dentsu Aegis Network’s local CEO, Henry Tajer, is departing the company, effective tomorrow, after being appointed to the leadership role in January. He will be replaced immediately by Angela Tangas.
CFO Reg Davidson will also depart, replaced by Jerome Whelan. Ashish Bhasin, the holding company’s APAC CEO, said it’s the “right decision”.
Tajer has been DAN’s local CEO since the start of the year
The prophecy has come full circle.
I have spoken.
I prophesied this back in 1995….
He said there was no resourcing issue at Dentsu Australia, based on the speed of hiring his replacement I guess he was right.
This comment made my day!
WoW!
That was quick!
So Henry wasn’t the solution?
If not him, with all of his ability, connections and track record……then I’d be a tad worried as to what is next?????
His track record of hiring his friends at the huge expense of everyone including the clients, you mean?
Maybe because his ‘friends’ are really good at what they do?!
They may be good but are they the best? That would be some coincidence…
Are they? No results to back that up.
Is there results to back Angela Tangas and Jerome Whelan abilities? They were both at Dentsu before Henry
Angela [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy] till she can move on. She had the reputation [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy]. The blame for the stock price plunge at iSelect was placed largely on the area she was in charge of, but clearly [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy]
Angela is [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy]. She survived just by [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy]. She [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy]. She will [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy]
Well that’s demonstrably untrue or they’d have taken the US by storm and quite obviously they were not up to it.
Massive lol. All those meetings with his friends. My favourite was the one who [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy]
Extremely tough gig – something wrong under the hood I suspect
…Grabs Popcorn…
Lesson in this is don’t make waves, just conform
There is a better option: Do the right thing.
Seems to be [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy]
UM APAC 2009
MB Global 2016
DAN ANZ 2019
Same story of naked power consolidation even before performing; inability to [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy] , trading push; [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy] may put even normal aussies to shame.
No, the lesson is employ a leadership team for the business you aspire to be, not the business everyone else used to be.
[Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy] They got sacked twice! Can’t even heroes globally and locally. Was a pain working with them as all was [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy]
They should retire with all their severances packages … unless that’s their new business model ..
Won’t be the last bad news for DAN from what I hear….
Oh, if you are an actual prophet, please do tell now so when it happens we can truly believe your statement
Tick Tock Jens…
OMG won Tic Toc
[Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy]
Insightful
Harbinger of some holding group consolidation coming up
Do they hire them all back now? What a mess.
Hmmm…reminiscent of when Matthew Knights replaced Kevin Sheedy at Essendon Footy Club several years ago.
No new business, jobs for his mates and cost cuts for everyone else. [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy] and forgettable much like his time in charge.
Couldn’t have happened to [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy] . There was never a plan, [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy] exited many great people without cause and [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy] . No wonder the business is in the state it is in. Karma is a big wheel and it’s just gone full circle.
Medica , Cura Te Ipsum.
$100 to anyone who can tell us what actually happened!
Didn’t play to the same tune as global, and that only works if your tune gets quick results
Thanks, appreciate the succinct and insightful summary
They thought they called the shots in ANZ but forgot they had regional and global to answer to…
Oh wow so she went from being a coordinator in 2008 to CEO of DAN Australia in 10 and a bit years?
That’s insane. [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy]
[Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy]
Thats a poor indictment on comment sections right there
where’s the moderation on that comment Mumbrella? Disgusting!
Can you read??!! It is heavily moderate!
This whole thread is moderated and its out of control!!!
All I want is to stick it [edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy]
The immediacy and pairing of departures makes it sound like the business is on the verge of collapse. Don’t think I can remember a time where both CEO & CFO we’re gone the next business day.
Happened during their time in IPG. This cements the notion that [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy]
“Carat has won two major accounts in L’Oreal and the $50m Medibank and AHM business.” Carat retained these clients, which, to be fair is often harder than winning a new client. Joseph Pardillo, MD Carat Melbourne and his Team should be commended for that 🙂
Hear hear
there was no pitch on l’oreal….it was a simple extension of contract PR’d as a win….
There’s nothing simple about a contract extension with L’Oreal. Joey and the Melbourne team deserve a massive round of applause for building a long and mutually-successful relationship with what has historically been considered one of the toughest clients out there.
… WOW! Not sure if you understand how this works.. Clients don’t have to extend.. they have a choice and they chose to stay with Joseph and team.. I’d say that’s a win for DAN in the current climate. Why focus on the negatives?! Why so bitter?!
Joe is a real talent in this industry. We should have more like him.
…Henry should forget another job in media, given the time off he’s had in the last few years, he should start a gardening business…
There is more positive outcomes, money, and satisfaction in gardening business
[Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy]
Hopefully without Henry Trump, we can make DAN great again!
Sad to see anyone out of work.
Truth is though he was a very uninspiring, didn’t understand modern marketing and spent his budget [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy] (poor decision making).
Said this when Simon Ryan left, please don’t hire another media person. DAN needs a strategic technologist and someone with a record of building businesses with modest budgets.
I guess the national hiring freeze doesn’t apply to the C-suite….
It suggests [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy] if the CFO is also fired
Karma.
Hopefully [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy] gets exposed ..
Please just give us the hams
This made my day
Cutting the ham budget was the final straw I hear.
It didn’t save Tajer’s Bacon
Come over for some steamed hams
It’s an Albany expression…
Despite the fact that they are obviously grilled
The hams ended up changing from the premium variety to the Aldi bargain bin in my time there….. thats why I got out!
What does this mean for Pat Darcy who left IPG for Dentsu under Henry? Maybe he will have enough time to grow a forest with that gardening leave…
Pat is a great operator and from what I saw and heard was always held in high regard by all members of staff and clients. He’ll be fine.
Pat is a top operator, only thing questionable there is some of the company he keeps
DAN was a crumbling mess pre Tajer, and still a mess during Tajer. But by firing a CEO after a few months, mid-overhaul of the scale that would have involved many layers of regional/global leadership approval shows that the whole organization is a crumbling mess.
Love the peanut gallery above having a crack. Great media insight from those that have nothing better to do
Errr? Do you see the irony in your comment?
Short stint
[Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy]
is this a record for the most “Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy” uses?
Not even close, The Mediacom 2015 AVB and TV Figures went wild.
Early days on this one though.
Well, isn’t Tajer from Mediacom as well?
.. who the hell is Angela? What the hell are these people thinking… you need more than 8 months to turn a failed business around.
Again, who the hell is Angela?!?!?!
It’s really a concern when tajer was walked so quickly, it suggests [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy] occurred
It makes perfect sense to [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy]
Great job Henry, level 6 looks really nice mate. Don’t worry about all the client losses, these things happen.
I’m sure your going to miss the view from your office – Harbour Bridge, North Sydney. Maybe we’ll be allowed to walk on the balcony now.
As a client I can only generate an ironic smile. Competitors feasting on the news. Stop spending so much time looking at each other and get back to finding a way to bring value before times up for everyone.
Yeah ok thanks for the input – as valuable as always from the client.
ha ha spot on
Times up!
It’s [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy] clients like you who think DAN is providing value (they aren’t they just raced to the bottom to win/retain your business) that are the problem!
Politics is 10 times worse “client side”.
Get a team in place and try to do media in house !
I can help you achieve this for you !
Have you considered paying your media agency fairly and not screwing them over for tiny percentage points so you can get decent people doing good work on your account?
Town hall was the nail in the coffin. Shame because Reg seemed like a decent fella.
Onwards and downwards….
[Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy].
It’s all just a little bit of history repeating…
Everyone mostly bagging Henry. You are missing a key shift of power- ANZ no longer important markets and Singapore no longer the APAC hub. It is now JAPAC run by a regional CEO based in India. Angela Tangas and Jerome Whelan will now [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy]
^^^
A real shame that DAN, despite their initial desire for real transformation/rebuild, don’t have the stomach to see it through.
Transformation requires a strong vision, as well as an ability to work under constant change and take calculated risks. Cutting and fixing what’s obviously broken is not a vision. Being antagonistic towards and shifting blame to the greater staff base in open forums shows a lack of vision, and also an utter lack of respect for your people and the diversity of your business.
In his defence, DAN hiring another media CEO was in no way visionary either. Perhaps this is the pain DAN needs to force an actual transformation.
Before Mumbrella edits the comments I am making it easier by doing it upfront.
This is the sad state of affairs at holding group level. You give charge to someone who has done “Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy” and more so after looking at his and the CFOs record back in IPG. Then the group does deserve this “Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy”. No vision and all BS is a problem that this industry faces across the board. ‘Takes popcorn’ to see the next in this.
Stinks of [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy]! CEO and CFO at the same time, theres a lot more to this, which I’m sure will leak out soon. DAN locally has been a mess for a couple of years, too many [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy] leaders ignoring global vision/strategy and only caring about their own PR, meanwhile lose business, clear out valuable people to save their own jobs and get their friends in on the gravy train. I hope Angela has a strategy beyond quick trading upsides from media owner mates.
While I wasn’t there to see the rise of Henry as I departed just before he was appointed, I have seen the spiraling mess that is DAN since the beginning, and was there for [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy] Surely this is the end of DAN (or at least, hopefully!)
I was really optimistic Henry could bring about the change Dentsu desperately needed after years of [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy].
I can’t fathom how 10 months could possibly give Henry enough time to turn that around and I’m sad this has happened (whatever the reason)
I feel for the people working at Dentsu and we can all have a little compassion for the difficult situation many people have or will find themselves in, rather than piling on
Sooo… about that Gym on level 1? Still getting built? I’ve canceled my Fitness First subscription.
.
Why do you need a gym? You are probably carrying 5 people’s workload daily.
What an underrated come back! Good for you!
When I first moved to Australia and applied for a role within DAN, their HR kindly told me to “go home”…. paraphrasing but an exact quote…. really shows what kind of an organisation they are and that was a blessing in disguise avoiding the car crash that is DAN. It makes MediaCom look professional and honest?!
Totally, had a similar shit experience with their “talent recruiters”. My CV and years of experience was attacked, almost laughing at the idea I was applying.
No wonder they weren’t able recruit any talent below senior management.
A real mess, but best of luck to the new leadership team in correcting things. Pat going in there will be a massive help, he’s a smart strategic thinker and has always been well though of by his people.
I’ve worked closely with Jerome Whelan…I’ll leave it at that.
Ok Boomer
hope you’re not in a creative role with that shitty unoriginal comment.
Metoo
Ok Karen.
lol you must be [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy]
OK Boomer
k.
It’s OK gen x. Was probably trying to tweet a kangaroo or two.
Does everything have to be some elitist jab? For people who sell breakfast cereal and cars with seat warmers, we’re an uptight bunch.
I remember when I used to work at UM around 2015 and HT and Reg came down from Sydney to address the staff, almost like they walked in on a red carpet. The arrogance on display whilst issuing statements that staff needed to work longer and harder was quite sickening. Perhaps if he had installed competent leaders rather than his mates, staff wouldn’t of had to work such long and demeaning hours.
Bye bye. Take up golf.
Hey, Anyone hiring? We can split the referral bonus
John Steedman must be relieved that WPP isn’t getting hammered in the comments for once.
Jens is still in his honeymoon period. His time will come.
Here’s an idea…bring back some of the old boys club (think ex-Mitchells alumni) and they’ll clean up the joint. Chuck in a couple more from Mediacom and the place will be rocking !
It is quite painful to watch people who have spectacularly failed in their roles, multiple times, still getting juicy roles! This is the bane of this industry. I am sure both the CEO and CFO combine will resurface soon. Watch this space.
The reason I left was due to the direction of this holding group…. investment in traditional media, acquisitions left to the side, old school management and in fighting…. Reg is a great guy and solid operator, HT operates like its 10 years ago and doesn’t understand the future of marketing, media or tech…. I feel sorry for some good people left but hold on for your redundancy guys they’re getting handed out like candy…..
Reg [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy]? Why did IPG let him go? I worked in Sydney with them and I know so many things which will be removed by the editor. He is the [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy]
This is excellent feedback. We should discuss in more detail.
This was a nice way to find out…
The Pyramid scheme finally collapsed.
Confirming your booking at Rooftop of the Shelbourne Hotel, Level 3 on Thursday, 19th December 2019 at 6PM to 10PM for DAN. Please reply: YES to confirm or NO to cancel. Dietary requirements must be pre-advised.
NO.
#drama
Looks like Japac flexing its muscles. Harry had a clear strategy (good but naive in my opinion) but without support or tolerance from his paymasters we won’t know whether it will have worked or not.
10 months is short. For ceo and cfo to go at the same time is sus.
These anonymous comments from [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy] taking a crack are a bit much
Steady as she goes!
79 posts most moderated by the site is bloody disgusting no matter what you think of Henry, the company you are dealing with, real people who should be treated with some dignity and respect.
Yeah i know the bloke, was a client at a former company he worked at. Is he any better/worse than others who have savaged him on this forum, because you cant help but feel there are disgruntled former employees, media people who didn’t get share when he worked in media or whatever the reason why so vicious. The carcass is not there to be eaten people, not just yet.
99% of the reason i left the industry after more than 4 decades was exactly crap like this. As Derrin would say SHAME.
This is such a waste of time, energy, resources and will. Both of them have no clue on how to run organizations and should take some up farming.
This is such a waste of time, energy, resources and will. Both of them have no clue on how to run organizations and should take some up farming.
karma is sweet. [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy]. made my day!
Lots of negative stuff, seems Tajer is not well liked, he seems to be yesterday’s man
Let’s hope so. I think he’s managed to annoy quite a few in the industry with his arrogant and autocratic style. He’s a trader but those skills are not what today’s landscape needs to thrive.
Surely this bloke is [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy] after all the mess that he has created by his own hand…
The emergency call to Harold has probably gone out
Hey Angela.
Congratulations on the appointment. All the best with the new role. I hope you do well.
(no shade. no trying to be funny. genuinely hope it goes well.
The toxicity is hitting the fan… DAN was the most disorganised, dysfunctional & destructive workplace I’ve experienced in 20 years – directed from the top. Profit is all they care about, stamping on their people in the process. Expect a massive crash soon.
I know you’ll be going on to bigger and better things.
Looking forward to seeing your next move. But do enjoy the break in the meantime.
Maybe, just maybe, the world has moved on from the giddy days of Mediabrands AUZ. and their uncapped bonuses where literally everything [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy].
This practice never translated to a global market as the world had already moved on. And perhaps Australia finally has too.
Grey manoeuvres that perhaps best didn’t serve the client’s best interest have finally dated.
My worry is that a lot of those tactics have been renamed, repackaged and rebranded with ‘integrity’ whilst being deployed by the biggest media agencies in town. Look for clues from ex employees trying to whistleblow via more audit based role.
There are still ways to rip off the client and print money. Perhaps Tajer’s ways aren’t them. Also perhaps Tajer didn’t want to go there [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy]
This isn’t over.
This is an odd move and a sign dan hq view Australia as a minor outpost. Staggering.
I think DAN thought in Tajer they were buying a controlled burn firebreak from an [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy], but instead got a full on bushfire with dry lightening and everything.
Accurate and topical.
I think it is comfortable to define Mumbrella as a 4chan network designed to allow snarky, jaded, toxic individuals to anonymously obliterate each other from behind keyboards. I don’t notice the same courage on B&T or Adnews.
Adnews and B&T don’t print anything except regurgitated press releases. Mumbrella occasionally still caries actual analysis. Thank goodness for the comments section! Yes, there may be disgruntled people – but listen to them! They are the canaries in the coal mine. Our industry is in trouble, yet we keep seeing holding groups appointing the old guard and patting each other on the back while the ships sink. We need change. If you happen to be in a position of leadership, may I suggest you listen rather than feel offended that people complain? And if you’re not in a position of leadership (but we all know you are, and probably in HR at that), then please do carry on complaining about your peers who express their distaste with mismanagement and lack of strategy. We agree that its a shame there are so many disgruntled employees / ex-employees. But some of us worry about the cause of such dissatisfaction, while others worry about the fact that “the general public” might find out about it…
Who the hell reads Adnews anyway?
The comment section on Adnews is nothing but sycophantic bullshit anyway!
Henry! Is that you?
Congrats to Jerome, well deserved, someone who can be respected and trusted. I’m sure building a gym will not be the first order of business
Henry will have to use his own money now to build a gym
I leave this here for DAN/Dentsu clients
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IApsgy9ZhBw
Now I get it, he was a [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy] CEO: all bluster, swinging in the wind and ultimately [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy]
Don’t like my style? You’re fired! Not delivering my results? You’re fired! Not one of my stooges? You’re fired!
So I guess he was [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy]
Sounds like Henry wanted a gym but DAN bosses flexed their muscles.
Anyone hiring?
….must be seriously considering removing [Edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy] from pitch rosters
Not a bad thing to [edited under Mumbrella’s comment moderation policy]
Gee, head of HR in Sydney must be under pressure. Hires then fires? Or are they just a mouth piece?
Just read this and think about all the signing bonuses and severance packages behind all these executives running through the revolving doors ! Best thing that could happen to them to make quick money…while the people doing the actual work plod on!
Once an exec has had 3 top appointments of less than a year, it should be like baseball — “three strikes and your out.”