MAM
Robert Gilby steps down as CEO of Dentsu APAC
Mumbai: Rob Gilby has stepped down from his role as CEO of Dentsu APAC after two years to pursue new ventures. He took on the position in September 2022, following Ashish Bhasin, and was instrumental in driving growth and regional integration efforts within the company, aligning its operations under the “One Dentsu” strategy.
With nearly three decades of experience in media and entertainment and over 25 years of expertise in the Asia Pacific region, Gilby made a significant impact at Dentsu. During his tenure, he focused on strengthening leadership, enhancing the company’s core competencies, and aligning Dentsu’s practices with client-driven growth objectives.
Before joining Dentsu, Gilby served as president of Asia Pacific at Nielsen, where he worked closely with brands, agencies, and media owners to deliver audience insights. He also founded and led Blue Hat Ventures, a firm specializing in helping digital media companies grow in the Asia Pacific market. His experience spans key markets like China, India, Southeast Asia, and Australia, having held leadership roles at major companies such as The Walt Disney Company, WarnerMedia, and PwC.
Beyond his corporate work, Gilby has been involved in advisory roles with Singapore’s Ministry of Communications and Information and the InfoComm Media Development Authority, and he chaired the Singapore Media Festival.
Brands
Oracle layoffs affect up to 30,000 employees globally
Job cuts span US, India and more, staff cite abrupt emails, uncertainty.
MUMBAI: April began with an inbox shock and for thousands, it ended with an exit. Oracle has carried out a sweeping round of layoffs, impacting an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 employees across its global operations, even as the company continues to report strong business performance. The job cuts were communicated via emails sent early on April 1, affecting staff across multiple regions including the United States, India, Canada and parts of Latin America. The reduction spans a wide range of roles and functions, though the company has not disclosed specific criteria behind the decisions.
In the days following the layoffs, employees have taken to platforms such as LinkedIn to share their experiences, many describing the process as abrupt and unsettling. Several posts pointed to a lack of prior indication, with notifications arriving suddenly in early-morning messages.
A recurring concern has been the impact on long-tenured staff. Users reported that employees with decades of experience were among those let go, raising broader questions about job security even for seasoned professionals within large technology firms.
The layoffs have also sparked anxiety about the wider direction of the sector. As companies continue to invest heavily in automation and artificial intelligence, workforce recalibration is becoming more common often accompanied by uncertainty around future roles and skills.
For many affected employees, the immediate challenge lies in navigating career transitions in an increasingly competitive job market, with posts reflecting concerns about stability and next steps.
The development comes against a backdrop of strong financial performance at Oracle, which recently reported a 22 percent year-on-year increase in revenue, alongside continued growth in its cloud infrastructure business. The company has also been committing significant capital towards artificial intelligence and data centre expansion.
The contrast between growth and job cuts has added to the unease, underscoring a broader shift in how large technology firms balance expansion with efficiency sometimes at the cost of the very workforce that helped build that growth.
