Craig Dempster has been on Merkle’s leadership team for 15 years. So when longtime CEO and Chairman David Williams stepped back from his role in spring 2020, Dempster was his natural successor as global CEO.
But he inherited leadership of the customer experience division of Dentsu and its more than 11,000 employees at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. He navigated not just leadership responsibilities during a difficult time, but captured growth in areas like customer experience, identity and commerce as consumer habits shifted.
In this episode of Campaign Chemistry, Dempster chats about Merkle's global expansion under Dentsu (hint: expect more acquisitions), where it's one of six agency brands the group will retain as it consolidates its businesses. He also talks about the future of identity as third-party cookies phase out and managing the organization through the global pandemic.
