Patricio De Matteis to join dentsu International as chief executive officer of ANZ

dentsu International has today announced Patricio De Matteis will be joining as chief executive officer of ANZ in January 2023.

De Matteis brings more than 25 years of experience in marketing, digital and consulting, with a proven record in building profitable businesses, creating strong teams and driving results for clients.

Currently, he is leading the digital arm of Cognizant as chief digital officer. Prior to this he held executive positions with PwC Australia and Accenture Song. During his 14-year tenure with Accenture Song, De Matteis helped shape and build the business from a two person-operation to a 1600+ person, multibillion dollar business. When he was leading the APAC region, De Matteis led a very successful acquisition strategy which included The Monkeys, Maud, and Fjord in the ANZ market, as well as Pacific Link Group in Greater China and IMJ in Japan. Earlier in his career, he held senior roles with Coca-Cola and Kellogg’s.

His hire follows a transformational period at dentsu ANZ focused on simplifying the business to five go-to-market brands, each with deep specialism, to make dentsu the best partner to help clients predict and plan for disruptive future opportunities by creating sustainable pathways to growth.

De Matteis’ appointment now rounds out the exceptional leadership in place and specialist skills in the ANZ market, with Kirsty Muddle leading Dentsu Creative; Danny Bass leading dentsu’s Media business including Carat, iProspect and dentsuX; John Riccio responsible for Merkle across both ANZ and APAC, and Chris Bower heading up Solutions, dentsu’s business consulting arm. De Matteis will report into Rob Gilby, APAC CEO, dentsu international and will be a key member of the APAC Executive Team.

Says Rob Gilby, APAC CEO, dentsu International: “Patricio’s deep knowledge coupled with his expertise from client and consulting sides is unique and will complement the strengths of our existing leadership team in the Australian and New Zealand markets.

“Patricio has a genuine understanding and appreciation of the importance of history, heritage and creativity having worked across both the ANZ and APAC markets, including some time living in dentsu’s birthplace, Japan. His attitude to sustainable growth was immediately clear and his commitment to people and doing what is right cemented in our minds that we had found the right person to lead the business. His experience speaks to the vision for our business and its wider role in the APAC market as we progress our one dentsu strategy. With Patricio on board, dentsu now has one of the strongest leadership teams in Australia and New Zealand with deep craft specialism across creative, media and customer experience.”

De Matteis replaces outgoing ANZ CEO Angela Tangas, who was appointed CEO of dentsu UK and Ireland in May, joining the business in London in September. Tangas will continue to support the ANZ market alongside the local Executive Leadership Team until the end of the year.

Says Gilby: “I want to take this opportunity to thank Angela whose resilient, innovative leadership has turned around and transformed the dentsu ANZ business. She has set a clear strategic blueprint for what success look like in the market and built a strong foundation for the next phase of growth.”

Under Tangas’ leadership, the ANZ business has seen three years of continued revenue and margin growth, most recently Q1 2022 organic growth of 13.6%, overseen multiple strategic clients wins and retentions, and improved year-on-year employee engagement despite the challenged business and market conditions.

Says Tangas: “I am incredibly proud of what myself and our dentsu ANZ team have collectively achieved over the last three years. We are a casing example of how transformation ahead of the curve can ensure sustained growth and, most importantly, result in a company that is agile, adaptable, and responsive to the changing needs of our clients and our employees.

“Patricio is exceptional talent and by working in partnership with the industry’s best and most diverse leadership team, our ANZ business, our team, clients, and partners are ready for what’s next. I look forward to seeing the ANZ business continue to go from strength-to-strength whilst doubling down on the growth and innovation of the UK&I, our third largest market and with it, cross market collaboration every-day.”

De Matteis will be based in Sydney.