Sean Reardon is out as CEO of the Americas Media Practice at Dentsu, the company confirmed Thursday. Will Swayne, Global Practice President will add oversight of the U.S. region to his responsibilities. 

Reardon was in the role for about a year and a half, having joined from marketing intelligence firm MiQ where he was CEO. Earlier he was CEO at Publicis Groupe’s Zenith. 

The move follows a roughly flat performance for Dentsu’s media operations in the Americas in 2024, as the company reported in its year-end earnings report, released in February. While there was some improvement in the fourth quarter, the first half was impacted by 2023 client losses which subsided in the second half of last year.  

Dentsu issued a statement on the executive change:  

“As part of our global strategy and to accelerate media as a growth engine, Will Swayne, Dentsu’s Global Practice President of Media, will also take on leadership of the US market.” 

The firm added that “media is the driver of Dentsu’s Integrated Growth Solutions (IGS), powered by creativity, data, and technology, and through this shift, we aim to achieve consumer connectivity for our client’s brands at scale. The US is emerging as a key driver of media opportunity and leadership and will continue to be an area in which dentsu invests in talent and capabilities.” 

Reardon, the comapny added, “is leaving Dentsu effective immediately.” 

The statement noted that Mike Law will continue to oversee Carat, Leah Meranus will continue to lead dentsu X, and Liz Rutgersson will continue to lead iProspect. “These experienced leaders, supported by a deep bench of talent across the Americas, are well-positioned to ensure momentum and client leadership.” 

On his LinkedIn page, Reardon stated, "Next stop to be shared soon."