Kota Takaichi

Often dubbed by colleagues and clients as the ‘One-Man Agency’, Kota prides himself on having hybrid experience and skill sets gained from brand servicing, strategy, media, and creative ideation.After spending his childhood in California, Kota graduated from Waseda University (Tokyo) in 2007 with a degree in Economics. That same year, he joined Hakuhodo inc. as an Account Executive and began contributing to numerous projects for blue chip clients. Over the course of his career, Kota has enjoyed building strong partnerships with his clients across a wide variety of industries, including automotive, telco, FMCG, entertainment, fashion, and FinTech.In 2013 he was assigned to Hakuhodo Malaysia, where he climbed the ranks to eventually lead the agency as CMO/COO, during which time the agency won its first ever Agency of the Year honour at Malaysia’s largest award show, the Kancil.Over the years, his projects have been recognized at major marketing award shows such as Cannes, D&AD, Adfest, and Spikes Asia to name a few. He also has a plethora of public speaking experience, and has served on the jury at Spikes Asia in 2018. In November 2022, he joined WPP as Managing Director of Marketing and Growth in Japan, where he leads teams across Japan and South Korea in service of WPP’s largest global client.On weekends he enjoys pouring cups of coffee for his well-traveled wife, and reading to his two-year-old daughter.