Dentsu Aegis Network expands Agnello Dias’ role; names him creative chairman for group

MUMBAI: Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN) has expanded the role of Agnello Dias, chief creative officer and co-founder of creative agency Taproot Dentsu, to creative chairman of the entire group in India.

In his new role, Dias, popularly known as Aggi in the creative industry, will now guide and mentor the creative output of all 23 DAN India agencies, including digital and out-of-home divisions. This role is in addition to his existing role at Taproot Dentsu.

“The entire creative community in India looks up to Aggi for his tremendous achievements. His mentoring of creative talent across all DAN India agencies will make DAN India an unbeatable creative powerhouse. I am really glad that Aggie has agreed to stretch himself and share his talent across the group. I look forward to him chairing the DAN India Creative Council,” said Ashish Bhasin, CEO Greater South, and Chairman and CEO – India at DAN.


Dias had co-founded Taproot with Santosh Padhi 10 years back. In 2012, DAN picked up majority stake in the company, and renamed it Taproot Dentsu.

“Taproot Dentsu is now a robust, full-fledged agency, based in two cities and run by a team of capable and talented professionals. In fact, this is the team that has been at the forefront of everything the agency has done for some time now. With the structure now in place and Paddy (Santosh Padhi) leading the way with the rest of the team, it was felt that I could also work with the other hungry and talented teams across the DAN network in India,” Dais added.