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Dentsu Aegis Network has made two external hires and a string of internal promotions for its UK and Ireland management team.

Stef Calcraft, the UK and Ireland executive chairman who joined in January, has appointed Anne Sewell, previously at Sky, as chief people officer and Dennis Romijn, formerly of Liberty Global, as chief financial officer.

He said it was important that Sewell and Romijn both bring valuable "client side" experience of business.

"You've got to have the broadest set of people," Calcraft said, explaining why he feels it has been important to recruit beyond the existing pool of traditonal agency people and contrasted that with some rival ad groups.

"We are going to properly partner at a business level with clients around data-led innovation and growth."

Meanwhile, Calcraft has also promoted Matthew Platts, chief executive of media brands, to chief commercial officer, James Connelly, founder of mobile agency Fetch, to chief strategic development officer, and Kate Howe, chief executive of business-to-business agency Gyro and former marketing director at Gala Coral, to chief growth officer.

There are no current plans to replace Platts' former role, according to the company.

Calcraft said: "We are drawing on some of our most talented leaders and bringing in some new faces with a strong track record of building, transforming and growing some of the world’s most successful businesses and brands."

He described them as "a multi-skilled entrepreneurial team of progressive thinkers to lead Dentsu Aegis Network’s next phase of growth" at the 4,000-strong UK and Ireland operation.

Other members of the senior leadership team include Matthew Hook, chief strategy officer, and general counsel Jay Tallon.

Calcraft appointed Jo Sutherland as chief executive of Carat and Pippa Glucklich as chief executive of Amplifi earlier this year,

Dentsu Aegis Network has had a mixed record in the past 12 months, winning Co-operative Group, Heineken and Jaguar Land Rover and retaining Microsoft, but losing the UK government’s buying account.

Calcraft, a co-founder of creative agency Mother, joined as an outsider to the media agency sector and in effect took over as UK country manager from Tracy de Groose, previously UK and Ireland chief executive of Dentsu Aegis Network.

Rivals WPP and Publicis Groupe have both appointed their first UK country managers as the holding companies increasingly seek to move to a "one P&L" model.

Publicis recruited Annette King, who joined from WPP’s Ogilvy, to be UK chief executive and she has appointed four external people to her leadership team.

WPP promoted internally by appointing Karen Blackett as its first UK country manager.