India-born Devika Bulchandani is now the global chief executive officer of global advertising and public relations agency Ogilvy, joining India-born CEOs internationally. Bulchandani, who serves as global president and CEO of Ogilvy North America, will succeed Andy Main, the company said in a statement.
In her new role, Bulchandani will be responsible for all aspects of Creative Network’s business and its advertising, public relations, experience, consulting and health units across 131 offices in 93 countries.
Ogilvy is part of the global leading marketing and communications conglomerate, WPP. The statement said that Bulchandani will also join the executive committee of the WPP as she assumes her new role.
Amritsar-born Bulchandani, who spent 26 years at McCann in various leadership roles, including President of McCann North America, was a driving force behind Mastercard’s long-running “Priceless” campaign as well as “True Name”. A one-of-a-kind feature launched in 2019 that empowers transgender and non-binary people to display their chosen name on their MasterCard.
According to Ogilvy, Devika Bulchandani, popularly known as Dev in the industry, is popular for ideas that capture the “cultural zeitgeist”. “Dev also helped launch “Fearless Girl,” an iconic and beloved symbol of women’s equality; the campaign has become one of the most respected campaigns in the history of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
Amritsar-born Bulchandani takes over from Maine, 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 Amritsar, Punjab, before attending Welham Girls’ School in Dehradun. After that, she earned degrees in English and Psychology at St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai and then went to the University of Southern California where she earned a master’s degree in communication.
“David Ogilvy changed the industry when he founded this prestigious agency 74 years ago. As we write the next chapter in Ogilvy’s history books, we will do this together with our clients, using the creativity that is possible For pushing her boundaries. I am honored and humbled to take on this role, and to do so to all of our incredibly talented people across the globe,” said Bulchandani, commenting on the development.
Mark Read, CEO of WPP, said, “Devika is a champion of creativity, bringing passion, purpose and an unshakable focus to create an impact in everything she does.”
Bulchandani is the latest among Indian-origin executives to hold leadership roles in global multinational companies in various sectors. Last week, coffee giant Starbucks appointed Laxman Narasimhan as CEO.