McCann Worldgroup Japan appoints Takashi Aoki as Representative Director & CEO

McCann Worldgroup Japan has announced the appointment of Takashi Aoki as the new Representative Director & Chief Executive Officer.

Announcing Takashi’s appointment, the company wrote, “Welcome to your new chapter, Takashi! We’re excited to see how your leadership will shape the future of creativity in Japan.”

Takashi is expected to step into this new role on October 2, following his leadership as President of McCann Japan and Craft Japan. In his earlier role, he focused on integration, creativity and operational excellence. With over two decades of experience spanning creative, digital and integrated marketing across Asia, Takashi is expected to bring a proven ability to unite teams, deliver bold ideas and guide transformation.

Takashi will succeed Ji Watson.

Sharing the departure of Watson, outgoing Representative Director and CEO at McCann Worldgroup, Japan, the company in a LinkedIn post wrote, “A guiding force in Japan during her leadership, Ji’s vision for and impact on McCann Worldgroup Japan has been exemplary. Thank you, Ji, and we wish you the very best for what’s ahead”.

Before taking his new role, Takashi most recently served as Managing Director at Media.Monks Japan, where he oversaw digital-first marketing and creative services.

Prior to that, he held senior leadership roles at Publicis Groupe, including General Manager of Saatchi & Saatchi Tokyo and country lead for the launch of Publicis Emil, a bespoke agency for Mercedes-Benz.

Takashi also spent more than a decade at J. Walter Thompson in Japan and China, leading brand and innovation strategy for clients such as Shiseido, Nikon, Air New Zealand and Bayer Health Care, after starting his career with Young & Rubicam and Ray Corporation.