MAM
Ashish Bhasin steps down as dentsu International CEO APAC & chairman India
Mumbai: dentsu International CEO – APAC and India chairman Ashish Bhasin has put in his papers and Friday is his last day at the company. dentsu international has confirmed the development in an official statement.
Bhasin made the announcement in an internal email to his colleagues at dentsu where he broke the news that the company has accepted his request for early retirement.
“I have had a wonderful 13+ years and have enjoyed leading dentsu India and dentsu APAC. In this journey I was lucky to have a brilliant team, very supportive colleagues and have made some lovely friends for life. Dentsu is a great company and I wish them the very best,” he wrote.
He further added, “I am unable to comment on my future plans for now but in the meanwhile I am really looking forward to going to Harvard for the Advanced Management Program, for which I have secured admission for the next semester.”
Confirming that Ashish Bhasin is seeking early retirement from dentsu after 13 years with the business, the company, in an official statement, added that a successor will be announced in due course.
“To manage this transition, Simon Jones, CFO APAC & Belli Mathanda, COO APAC will work closely with our global CEO, Wendy Clark, who will have a greater focus on the region during this time supported by the APAC Executive team,” dentsu said.
“This strong team is well placed to continue the positive transformation underway in the region as we simplify how we operate and bring together our leading capabilities in service of our clients in Creative, Media and CXM to realise our global ambition to be the most integrated agency network in the world,” stated the company.
It further added that in India, Peter Huijboom will continue his interim, day-to-day leadership of the business with the India leadership team, while the company is in the final stages of its search and appointment of a new CEO in India.
Bhasin joined dentsu in 2008 as India CEO and joined the global executive team when he was promoted to CEO, Asia Pacific in 2019.
MAM
Give Me Five mental fitness platform launches in India
Global tool for early stress detection debuts in Hyderabad with live demos.
MUMBAI: Give Me Five just gave mental fitness a high-five because when your mind needs a quick check-up, even the app shows up faster than your inner critic. Give Me Five, a global mental fitness platform focused on early detection and proactive wellbeing, was officially launched in India at a special event at The Park Hotel, Somajiguda, Hyderabad. Founded by Brendan Fahey (30 years years building community solutions in human services), Dr Lisa Fahey OAM (35+ years as a trauma-recovery psychologist) and Phil Dymock (technology lead for expansion across the US, Canada, Australia and now India), the platform encourages small, consistent check-ins to spot early signs of stress, anxiety or burnout before they escalate.
The launch featured a live demonstration of core features, quick mental fitness assessments, data-driven personal insights, wellbeing dashboards, and tools tailored for individuals, workplaces, schools and communities. By making early awareness simple and accessible, Give Me Five aims to foster supportive environments where people feel equipped to act sooner rather than later.
Give Me Five co-founder Brendan Fahey said, “Give Me Five was created with a simple idea that small, consistent check-ins can make a meaningful difference in how we understand and support mental fitness. By making early detection accessible through technology, we hope to empower individuals, organisations, and communities to recognise challenges sooner and build stronger systems of care and support.”
The platform arrives as mental health conversations in India gain urgency, with rising awareness of workplace stress, student burnout and everyday emotional load. Give Me Five positions itself as a preventive companion less about crisis response and more about daily maintenance for the mind.
In a world that tracks every step and heartbeat, Give Me Five quietly reminds us the most important metric is still how we feel—and sometimes all it takes is five minutes and a honest pause to keep the balance from tipping.
