Helen McRae, Sindhuja Rai and Josh Gallagher expand remit at GroupM

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GroupM, WPP's media investment group, has reshuffled its leadership in Asia Pacific (APAC), making multiple appointments. The changes expand the remits of Mindshare, Wavemaker, and EssenceMediacom’s regional agency leaders to include responsibility for critical GroupM-wide functions and capabilities.

Helen McRae (pictured left) will oversee GroupM’s growth and business development teams in the region. In her new role, McRae will work closely with regional leadership and GroupM’s recently appointed global chief growth officer, Hamish Davies, to ensure teams responding to new business opportunities benefit from shared knowledge, best practices, tools, and processes in all markets and across all GroupM agencies. This is on top of her role as Mindshare APAC's CEO.

In addition, Sindhuja Rai (pictured centre), Wavemaker’s regional lead for APAC, will take on the additional responsibility for overseeing GroupM’s client leadership communities in the region.

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In her new role, Rai will partner with GroupM and agency leaders throughout APAC, including CEOs Prasanth Kumar (South Asia), Rupert McPetrie (China), Michael Beecroft (North Asia), Himanshu Shekhar (Southeast Asia), Aimee Buchanan (Australia/New Zealand), and Arshan Saha (Singapore), to implement GroupM-wide best practices for client service and experience across all accounts and in all markets.

Meanwhile, EssenceMediacom’s chief operating officer for APAC, Josh Gallagher (pictured right), has been promoted to client president for the agency in the region. In this new role, Gallagher will oversee GroupM’s client strategy capability and talent communities in the region, applying best practices and implementing cutting edge strategic planning tools and technologies across all agencies and APAC markets. He will also manage EssenceMediacom’s portfolio of clients across APAC.

Gallagher succeeds McPetrie who was recently appointed into a new role as CEO for GroupM in China in February.

The leadership changes come as GroupM aims to accelerate business growth and further the implementation of the company’s simplified operating model in the APAC region.

“GroupM’s depth of talent in Asia Pacific is well known, both in the region and around the world. In McRae, Rai, and Gallagher, we have some of the most outstanding leaders in the industry working to make sure GroupM keeps raising the bar for client service and marketing innovation," said GroupM global CEO Brian Lesser.

"I’m excited to see the positive impact I know they will have on the way we leverage our collective intelligence and technology to deliver value for our clients and give our teams every opportunity to collaborate, grow, and win together," added Lesser.

Earlier in June this year, GroupM Nexus APAC CEO Saha took on an expanded remit as CEO for GroupM in Singapore, effective immediately. As both a regional hub for GroupM clients and a key APAC market in itself, Singapore is a unique and fast-growing market for the agency.

The appointment of Saha to the CEO role for GroupM’s business in Singapore is designed to further accelerate the company’s local growth as well as ensuring coordinated delivery of best-in-market innovation, productisation, and creativity for regional clients.

Within this newly created role, Saha will continue to lead GroupM’s regional activation teams and oversee the growth and development of Choreograph throughout the region in addition to his new responsibilities.

Saha will also work closely with agency and client leaders at GroupM’s agencies Mindshare, Wavemaker, and EssenceMediacom to carry out his duties, as well as with fellow GroupM veteran Shekar, who will continue to drive growth for GroupM’s business in Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam as CEO, GroupM SEA.  

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