President and CEO of Dentsu Public Relations Inc.
Kazunori Azeyanagi was named President of Dentsu Public Relations Inc. in March 2016. Under his tenure, Dentsu PR has received numerous industry honors and awards, including the Grand Prix at the International Public Relations Association Golden World Awards for Excellence in 2019. Dentsu PR was also recognized by the Holmes Report as North Asia Consultancy of the Year in 2018.
Kazunori is also the President of the Public Relations Society of Japan, a post which he took up in June 2018, and currently leads the society’s efforts to promote public relations in Japan.
Before being appointed President of Dentsu PR, Kazunori served as Director of the Social Solution Division and, subsequently, the Business Creation Center at parent company Dentsu Inc. Throughout his career, he has worked to help clients address social issues through communications.
His experience as an account executive includes the supervision of several government agency accounts including the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. He was part of the Dentsu team which provided support for the privatization of then government-owned Japan Tobacco Inc., and went on to conduct its global branding activities over a number of years. His branding expertise also brought benefits to luxury brands such as Giorgio Armani, an account which he handled for over a decade, among other apparel brands in Japan.
Kazunori joined Dentsu Inc. in April 1981 after earning a B.A. in Literature from Chiba University.
