Dick van Motman

He worked essentially for 3 large leading firms in the advertising and media industry - 12-years as a partner at the privately held D’Arcy, Masius Benton & Bowles (acquired by Publicis in 2002), 9-years at DDB Worldwide (the 2nd biggest industry group) and for the last 6 years at Dentsu - the first Asian born Global communications group.
In October’2012 he became the first foreigner to head up Dentsu Asia where he helped to merge with Aegis following the acquisition by Dentsu (to-date the largest ever acquisition in the industry) in 2013. He then led the combined Dentsu Aegis Network in SouthEast Asia, more than doubling its size in terms of revenue and tripling of profit over 4 years through an aggressive transformation and extensive M&A strategy - becoming the 2nd largest industry group. Under Dick’s leadership, Dentsu achieved many leading industry accolades including Network of the Year, but more importantly, extensively diversified/reshaped its talent and client base that transformed the organization into a truly international company. 

Convergence and transformation were part of Dick’s DNA long before they become familiar buzzwords. Being a Dutchman in disguise with a cultural mix of Dutch Indonesian and Dutch Portuguese Jewish probably contributed to this.
Born in the Netherlands but raised to be a Global citizen aptly set him up for an international career that has spanned from postings in Korea, Japan, Indonesia, China, Hong Kong and twice in Singapore.
Whilst his first job was at the European Options Exchange, his education comprised economics, marketing and organizational sociology, was a natural fit for an industry that merges business and people: advertising & media - an industry which he has been working in for the last 30 years, essentially for 3 large leading firms - 12-years as a partner at the privately held D’Arcy, Masius Benton & Bowles (acquired by Publicis in 2002), 9-years at DDB Worldwide (the 2nd biggest industry group) and for the last 6 years at Dentsu - the first Asian born Global communications group.
During this time there were many firsts in Dick’s career. He was the first foreigner awarded ‘Most Outstanding Person by China Advertising and CCTV (China Central Television)’ during his tenure at DDB as their Greater China CEO. Within his 7-year leadership, DDB became a +700 people organization and won the first ever Gold Lion at the prestigious global Cannes Lions festival for China as a country.
In October’2012 he became the first foreigner to head up Dentsu Asia where he helped to merge with Aegis following the acquisition by Dentsu (to-date the largest ever acquisition in the industry) in 2013. He then led the combined Dentsu Aegis Network in SouthEast Asia, more than doubling its size in terms of revenue and tripling of profit over 4 years through an aggressive transformation and extensive M&A strategy - becoming the 2nd largest industry group.
Under Dick’s leadership, Dentsu achieved many leading industry accolades including Network of the Year, but more importantly, extensively diversified/reshaped its talent and client base that transformed the organization into a truly international company.
On the back of this success, in January’2018 Dick was asked to lead Dentsu creative agencies globally with a goal to accelerate growth, quality and expansion.
Whilst he likes to describe himself as a corporate entrepreneur Dick ensures he stays current by actively being involved in start-ups, largely in the med, mar and fin tech sectors as both an angel investor, board member and advisor.
He’s on the board of the Mobile Marketing Association APAC and an active speaker at conferences. He was the lead patron in the Anne Frank Tree preservation foundation, is an avid art collector and purveyor of wines and music. Dick resides in Singapore with his wife and 5-year-old daughter.