Dentsu Aegis announces four departures connected to #MeToo

Dentsu Aegis Network has announced that four senior leaders of Happy Mcgarrybowen and iProspect India have stepped down from their positions following allegations of sexual harassment.

The four leaving their positions are:

• Kartik Iyer, CEO of Happy Mcgarrybowen
• Praveen Das, MD of Happy Mcgarrybowen
• Bodhisatwa Dasgupta, senior creative director with Happy Mcgarrybowen
• Dinesh Swamy, national creative director with iProspect India.    

Dentsu Aegis Network issued the following brief statement:

Dentsu Aegis Network has always believed in providing a safe environment at our workplaces which is free from any kind of harassments. We have a zero tolerance policy towards any kind of harassment at our workplaces.

Mr. Kartik Iyer (CEO) and Mr. Praveen Das (MD) have stepped down from their respective positions and responsibilities at Happy Creative Services.

Additionally, Bodhisatwa Dasgupta, Sr. Creative Director, Happy Creative Services and Dinesh Swamy, National Creative Director, iProspect India have also stepped down from their respective positions.

Iyer, Das and Dasgupta were among the names that initially emerged when the #MeToo movement collided with the advertising industry in India just over a week ago. Later, Dasgupta issued an apology for being "sexually inappropriate" via a Medium post.

Campaign India has asked for clarification on why DAN has referred to the company as "Happy Creative Services", which was the agency's name before it was acquired by DAN in 2016 and became Happy Mcgarrybowen.

See all our coverage of recent #MeToo allegations in adland.