If I wanted to lead like a woman earlier, now I want to do it like an Indian: Ogilvy’s Devika Bulchandani
The Indian-origin global CEO of Ogilvy believes winning, be it a client or at Cannes, fixes everything. She says the industry loves complication, but in the end, it is creative thinking that solves a business problem. She talked to Storyboard18’s Delshad Irani at Cannes Lions 2023.
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Devika Bulchandani, global chief executive officer, Ogilvy, says her first agenda after coming to the advertising agency was to make the organisation and people feel stable as there have been a lot of uncertainties at the company. It was important, she said, to calm down the internal noise and for the people to remember that Bulchandani and Liz Taylor, global chief creative officer, came because of the love they have for the brand. “If you don’t have the people feeling good, nothing happens,” Bulchandani says. She was talking to Storyboard18 at Cannes Lions 2023.
Bulchandani, who is one more Indian-origin CEO running a global company, says that if she wanted to lead like a woman earlier, now she wants to lead like an Indian. Taylor who was also present there addressed the the dynamic between her and Bulchandani. Taylor revealed that the duo share a chemistry and have both intellectually stimulating and woman to woman conversation.Taylor also mentioned that her goal is to make the work culture at Ogilvy simple and make people understand what Ogilvy’s core values are.
‘Winning fixes everything’
Bulchandani focuses on stabilising the creative leadership and talks about making sure that the creative reputation of Ogilvy is intact. Bulchandani ensures that she spends time with clients and listening to them and understanding whether Ogilvy is delivering. “Winning fixes everything, be it winning a client, or winning at Cannes,” she feels.
“When an agency feels like a winner, they do better work for clients and show up with bravery. We got to get our fundamentals right. Once your fundamentals are right, you can innovate stuff,” she says.
Bulchandani also talked about the love for complication that the industry has. “They believe that if we complicate our industry, that’s our value. Data is a means to an end. In the end, it is creativity, whether it is PR, a health business or digital experience, it is creative thinking that is solving a business problem,” she said.
(Complied by Indrani Bose)
