MAM
Dentsu elevates James Bailey as media chief for UK and Ireland
LONDON: Dentsu UK and Ireland has appointed James Bailey as chief executive officer – media, marking a key leadership shift as the group scales its integrated Media plus plus strategy. The appointment takes effect immediately.
Bailey will report to Dentsu UK&I chief executive officer Annette Male. Alongside his elevation, Shenda Loughnane has been named market lead for Ireland while continuing as global president of dentsu X. She will report jointly to Bailey and Will Swayne, global practice president for media and integrated solutions.
Bailey steps up from his role as chief executive of iProspect UK, where he has led the agency since its consolidation with Vizeum in 2021. Under his leadership, iProspect built a unified multi-location operation and secured major client wins including Kering, eBay, Netflix and Tapestry.
The agency also climbed industry rankings, placing third in Recma’s UK media market table in 2025 and second in Campaign’s new business rankings, alongside multiple award shortlists.
His promotion comes amid rapid expansion of dentsu’s UK&I media business, with media positioned as the growth engine across audience strategy, activation, content, CRM, data and technology under the Media plus plus model.
Bailey succeeds Loughnane, who had been serving as interim head of UK&I media since July 2025. Based in Dublin, she will now focus on leading the Ireland business while maintaining her global role.
Annette Male said Bailey had built a transformational agency model rooted in regional talent, while Loughnane’s experience would further strengthen Dentsu’s market capabilities.
Bailey said his focus would be on nurturing future-ready media talent to deliver measurable growth for clients, while Loughnane highlighted the opportunity to combine global insight with local leadership in Ireland.
