DEPT® Names Helga Sásdi EVP for EMEA

DEPT® has tapped Helga Sásdi as executive vice president for EMEA, extending the momentum from a strong first-quarter performance that saw the agency add clients such as Lufthansa, PepsiCo, Lieferando, Salamander and EPI/WERO to its roster.

Helga joins from Publicis Groupe Hungary, where she tripled the business to become Hungary’s largest creative powerhouse, and will now focus on smashing internal silos and harnessing the talent of DEPT®’s 2,000+ specialists across UK, DACH, Benelux and Eastern Europe.

Ahead of her official start, she speaks to LBB’s Alex Reeves about her plans to forge integrated, AI-driven teams and build on the agency’s distinctive 50/50 marketing-technology model.

LBB> What are your top priorities for driving client growth across EMEA, and how will they differ from the strategies we’ve seen so far from DEPT?

Helga> Over the past 10 years, we’ve established a significant footprint in EMEA. Now, we are focused on smashing silos and harnessing the expertise of our 2,000+ specialists across the UK and Ireland, DACH, Benelux and Nordics, and Eastern Europe by forming highly flexible, integrated teams tailored to each client’s unique requirements.

We’re already set up in a way – one P&L across the region – that allows us to dismantle internal silos effectively. So our job now is to match people with projects in a way that fully integrates our diverse capabilities – creative, technology, data, media, and experience design – into truly cohesive, cross-functional teams that provide seamless, innovative solutions to our clients' business challenges.

This will ultimately lead us to create work that unlocks new opportunities, leads with AI-driven innovation, and clearly articulates our unique 50/50 marketing and technology model.

It’s not about doing things differently; it’s just galvanising our people around this culture of disruption, and I am so excited to be a part of this journey.

LBB> Having tripled Publicis Groupe Hungary’s size, how will you replicate that growth at DEPT – and what lessons from that experience will you bring to bear here?

Helga> Here’s what I’ve learnt: successful businesses strongly focus on their people and clients.

A magnetic culture that attracts top talent is the breeding ground for growth. We are focused on creating an environment where the best talent wants to be – driven by a distinct culture, shared ambition, and clear purpose. For our teams across the region, we’ll continue to empower them to do their best work, bringing together creative, media, tech, and data into seamless, agile teams that deliver end-to-end value for clients.

DEPT® has a growing portfolio of clients, both global and local heroes, that come to us for our technology and marketing services. We pride ourselves on building strong partnerships and delivering impactful work to the brands we work with - that will remain our goal. In 2025, our focus will continue to be on delivering solutions that are integrated, proactive, and built around real business problems – positioning DEPT® as a strategic extension of their team.

Our longstanding investment in applied AI allows us to anticipate client needs and go beyond the brief by leveraging our AI capabilities to develop intelligent, forward-looking ideas.

We’re uniquely built to service the brands that will drive culture and innovation of the next decade, and it’s incredible to have joined a team that builds tomorrow today.

LBB> EMEA is incredibly diverse: how will your client growth strategy be adapted to reflect differing market maturities, cultural nuances, and regulatory landscapes?

Helga> The answer is rooted in our local footprint. We’ll continue to leverage DEPT®'s distributed talent across EMEA to tap into deep local knowledge – language, regulation, culture, and market dynamics – while offering clients the reach and consistency of a regional partner.

We’ll continue to create flexibility in the team and delivery models by combining local talent with specialised capabilities across the region. As for the regulatory landscape, we equip teams with regional legal and data privacy knowledge (e.g. GDPR in Europe) to ensure compliance is never an afterthought.

LBB> What else are you most excited to get involved in driving forward at the agency?

Helga> I am particularly excited to work with the wider EMEA leadership team to bring DEPT®’s tech-meets-marketing model to life in an even more powerful way. I am immensely appealing to the opportunity to work within a truly integrated environment where engineering, design, creative, media, and data/AI specialists collaborate seamlessly to solve complex business problems holistically.

Our distinctive 50/50 balance of technology and marketing capabilities uniquely positions us to partner with clients across the entire digital consumer journey – from building initial awareness and driving conversion to fostering long-term loyalty.

I also want to continue unlocking innovation through our global talent pool and nurturing a culture of experimentation and possibility. With over 4,000 experts worldwide, the opportunity to build and collaborate with diverse, high-performing teams that bring new perspectives and cutting-edge thinking to every client brief is a significant motivator. I believe in creating an environment that encourages trying new things, embraces rapid iteration, and strives to raise the bar for our clients and for ourselves as an agency.

To fuel all of that, I’m eager to scale AI-powered, data-informed solutions. DEPT®’s strong foundation in tangible uses of artificial intelligence opens up exciting possibilities for delivering scalable personalisation, leveraging predictive analytics, and finding more efficient and intelligent ways to create substantial value for our clients.