Ogilvy appoints Indian-origin ad veteran Devika Bulchandani as global CEO

iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-

Ogilvy has announced the appointment of Devika Bulchandani as its Global Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

In this role, Bulchandani 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.

She will also join WPP’s Executive Committee as she takes on her new role.

Bulchandani’s most recently served as Global President and CEO of Ogilvy North America.

She takes the helm from Andy Main who is stepping down as Global CEO and will serve as a Senior Advisor until the end of the year.

Ogilvy is a New York City-based British advertising, marketing, and public relations agency. It was founded in 1850 by Edmund Mather as a London-based agency. In 1964, the firm became known as Ogilvy & Mather after merging with a New York City agency that was founded in 1948 by David Ogilvy.

The agency is now part of the WPP Group. It provides services in six areas: brand strategy, advertising, customer engagement and commerce, public relations and influence, digital transformation, and partnerships. The company’s strategy division OgilvyRED became Ogilvy Consulting.

Prior to joining Ogilvy, Bulchandani spent 26 years at McCann in various leadership roles including President of McCann North America.

She 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.

Known for ideas that capture the cultural zeitgeist, she also helped launch “Fearless Girl”, an iconic and beloved symbol of women’s equality. The campaign became one of the most awarded in the history of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

In October 2022, Bulchandani will be honored by New York Women in Communications (NYWIC) at the 2022 Matrix Awards, which honors women who are making a difference, building community, and inspiring the next generation of female leaders in their field.

She has previously received a range of other honors including, NY Power Woman by Moves Magazine; US Advertising Agency Head of the Year by Campaign Magazine; Working Mother of the Year by She Runs It; and ADCOLOR Innovator.