India-born Devika Bulchandani is now the global chief executive officer of global advertising and public relations agency Ogilvy, joining a host of India-born CEOs at the international stage. Bulchandani, who has been serving as Global President and CEO of Ogilvy North America, succeeds Andy Main, the company said in a statement.
Bulchandani in her new role will be responsible for all aspects of the creative network’s business across 131 offices in 93 countries and spanning its advertising, public relations, experience, consulting, and health units.
Ogilvy is part of global leading marketing and communications group, WPP. Bulchandani will also join WPP’s Executive Committee as she takes on her new role, said the statement.
Amritsar-born Bulchandani, who spent 26 years at McCann in various leadership roles including President of McCann North America, was the driving force behind Mastercard’s long-running “Priceless” campaign as well as “True Name,” a first-of-its-kind feature launched in 2019 that empowers transgender and non-binary people to display their chosen name on their Mastercard.
Popularly known as Dev in the industry, Devika Bulchandani is popular for ideas that capture the “cultural zeitgeist”, according to Ogilvy. “Dev also helped launch “Fearless Girl,” an iconic and beloved symbol of women’s equality; the campaign became one of the most awarded campaigns in the history of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity,” said the statement.
Amritsar-born Bulchandani takes the helm from Main who is stepping down as global CEO and will serve as a senior advisor until the end of the year.
Devika Bulchandani spent her childhood and early adulthood in India. She spent her early days in Punjab’s Amritsar, before attending Welham Girls’ School in Dehradun. After that, she earned a degree in English and Psychology at St Xavier’s College in Mumbai and thereafter moved to the University of South California where she earned a master’s degree in communications.
“David Ogilvy changed the industry 74 years ago when he founded this iconic agency. As we write the next chapter in the history books of Ogilvy, we will do it together with our clients, using creativity to push the boundaries of what’s possible. I am honored and humbled to take on this role, and to do it with all our incredibly talented people all over the world,” Bulchandani said commenting on the development.
Mark Read, CEO of WPP, said, “Devika is a champion of creativity who brings passion, purpose, and an uncompromising focus on generating impact to everything she does.”
Bulchandani is the latest in a slew of Indian-origin executives taking leadership role in global multinationals in varied fields. Last week coffee giant Starbucks appointed Laxman Narasimhan as CEO.
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