Senior leadership shakeup in WPP Media under new APMEA model; Prasanth Kumar to lead India, Sri Lanka

WPP Media has announced a significant structural overhaul of its global media operations, rolling out a new operating model across the Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa (APMEA) region, alongside a broader senior leadership reshuffle. The move is part of a sweeping transformation that sees the retirement of the GroupM brand in favour of a unified “WPP Media” identity, positioned as an AI-powered media investment organization.

As part of the leadership transition, the APMEA business ia divided into six sub-regions: Australia and New Zealand led by Aimee Buchanan, China led by Rupert McPetrie, India and Sri Lanka under Prasanth Kumar (as before) and MENA led by Amer El Hajj, according to industry reports.

Northeast Asia (Japan, Korea, Hong Kong) will be helmed by Michael Beecroft and SEAPAT (Southeast Asia, Pakistan, South Africa, Taiwan) will be led by Helen McRae. Additionally, McRae takes on the newly created role of CEO, SEAPAT, in addition to her leadership on LVMH across APAC. WPP Media said McRae’s track record in agency leadership and operations would be key in accelerating growth across this cluster.

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The restructure includes fresh senior appointments: Sindhuja Rai steps up as Chief Client Officer, APMEA, charged with elevating client service, overseeing global and regional accounts, and leading a client solutions team based in Singapore.

Meanwhile, Josh Gallagher takes on the role of Chief Strategy and Growth Officer, APMEA, tasked with shaping the go-to-market proposition, leading strategic planning, new business efforts and cross-WPP integration projects. In media operations, WPP Media has folded Nexus and Investment into a new Media Management and Delivery (MMD) organisation.

Anita Munro, Executive Director of Thailand, will now lead Media Management, focusing on client solutions, meanwhile Arshan Saha will head Media Delivery, alongside his existing responsibilities for Singapore and Malaysia. Both will report to the APMEA CEO and the global MMD structure.

Amer El Hajj and Claudelle Naidoo officially join the regional leadership team as MENA and South Africa leads respectively, the media report added. APMEA Choreograph leadership structure is still being finalised in collaboration with global teams.

The restructuring follows Mark Read decision to step down as CEO of WPP at the end of this year, after nearly seven years in the role. In a statement, Read recently said there’s never a perfect time to leave a company like WPP, but he believes now is the right moment.

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Despite the challenging business climate, Read said he remains confident in the company’s future and its people. “WPP is a people business at its core,” he said, adding that no technology can replace the creativity, collaboration and insight that staff bring every day.

Under Read’s leadership, WPP sought to streamline its sprawling portfolio, embrace emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, and reposition itself at the forefront of modern marketing services. The company recently rebranded its media investments firm GroupM to WPP Media.