Kai Deveraux Lawson is Dentsu Creative's First DEI Lead

Dentsu's new DEI lead is a familiar voice around the industry: Kai Deveraux Lawson. Dentsu announced today that it has hired Lawson as svp, diversity, equity and inclusion for the network's creative operations in the Americas. Under Dentsu's reorganization, the company has integrated its creative agency capabilities under Dentsu Creative, which includes agencies 360i, Dentsu McGarryBowen, Firstborn, and Isobar. In the newly created role, Lawson will be tasked with leading Dentsu's efforts to further diversity, equity and inclusion strategies and programs across its creative agencies, while reporting directly to Dentsu Creative CEO Jon Dupuis and Dentsu Americas chief equity officer Christena Pyle. 'Outsized impact on culture' In a statement, Dupuis said Deveraux's addition to Dentsu's executive leadership team advanced the organizations existing commitment to meaningful progress for its clients, people and society. "Our industry has an outsized impact on culture, and with that comes a heightened responsibility to ensure the work we’re doing for some of the world’s most influential brands prioritizes things like portraying people accurately, holding space for new narratives and new voices, and challenging stereotypes," he added. "Kai’s incredible energy and rigor will help us deepen these efforts and accelerate our progress." Lawson joins Dentsu from WPP, where she was most recently global director, talent partnerships. Prior to joining WPP in 2019, she was associate operations director for media agency Essence. She's also the co-host and producer of the Mixed Company Podcast, a popular podcast about diversity, equity and social inclusion in creative industries from the perspectives of mid-level industry professionals of color. Lawson told Adweek she learned a lot in her previous role with WPP, calling it an "amazing experience." She said that her decision to pursue the leadership opportunity was influenced by working with WPP global head of culture Judy Jackson. "Now, the time is right for me to use those experiences to impact the industry as a whole, and it happens to be with Dentsu at the moment," she told Adweek. The hire follows Dentsu promoting Kirt Morris to chief equity officer for its CXM practice. In a statement, Pyle, who joined Dentsu last year after serving as Time Up's first executive director of advertising, cited Lawson's track record of building community, characterizing her hire as "part of our deeper strategy to embed DEI into our business within each of our service lines." After releasing its U.S. EEOC diversity data last year, Pyle confirmed that Dentsu will follow up next month with a public update on organizational diversity data, as well as a closer look at Dentsu's organizational goals around DEI and progress made to date. The company will continue to annually report such information publicly. Dentsu also shares internal updates on progress on a quarterly basis. "The stars aligned with Dentsu crafting out this approach to inclusion and culture with Christina getting on board and Kirt on the CXM side," Lawson told Adweek. "They're looking for leaders like me who want change." Touching fire As a Black woman from a family of immigrants and multiple prior roles in advertising, Lawson arrives at Dentsu with valuable lived experiences, as Lawson understands the obstacles to advancement within the ad industry. "My experience isn't that of a second-hand story of what needs to evolve. I've literally touched fire and understand… what needs [to change]," she explained. "I am in the midst of experiencing the full employee journey from intern to executive, and can speak not just from the perspective of a DEI leader, but also someone who not too long ago was grasping for a.. role model in this industry. [I can speak about] what it's like to not feel empowered to speak up for yourself," [but what are] "the key moments to self-advocate and what the key needs are [for] mid-level employees when it comes to coaching and sponsoring, not in theory but in practice." Her history of documenting her own and others' experiences navigating the ad industry's issues with systemic racism gives Lawson unique credentials as a DEI leader. Reflecting on the podcast and her practice of blogging about her own experiences, she said, "It’s impacted my level of honesty and transparency. That again is a unique almost superpower that I'm bringing to the table where my credibility is.. on Soundcloud." "When I bring perspective to the table it's not just an opinion, it comes from a place of personal experience, of secondary sources who have detailed their experiences to me," she added. "My co-hosts and I have always believed that this is the info that leaders at advertising tables need to arm themselves with to make decisions." Dentsu Media Enters Into Partnership With OZY Shaking the table Lawson said that she took the role in part because she was convinced of Dentsu's commitments: "This is a business imperative as opposed to a discipline-focused approach, and I think that opportunity to apply an agile process to inclusion is what's really going to help to make an impact that people see and feel. It's about all aspects of the business from the ground up," she said. "The way I’m looking at Dentsu right now is that they are completely changing the game and shaking the table. If you tear down an entire system to rebuild it to something that works better for you, that means that all of the rules are rewritten and all of the opportunities and the opportunities for success can be redefined." "That has been my own personal call to action to the industry for years," she added. "It gives a chance for culture to flourish in a way that has been difficult in the traditional advertising structure." Exclusive: LinkedIn Names Dentsu’s iProspect as Paid Media Partner

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Exclusive: Kai Deveraux Lawson Joins Dentsu Creative to Lead DEI

Lawson arrives from WPP and is a co-host and producer for the Mixed Company Podcast

Erik Oster

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Erik Oster