GroupM, the media investment group of WPP, saw changes in its top leadership structure. Parthasarathy Mandayam is appointed as the new Chief Strategy Officer of GroupM South Asia. In a parallel move, Amin Lakhani is elevated to the role of Chief Executive Officer – Mindshare South Asia, a position led earlier by Parthasarathy Mandayam.

With more than 25 years of experience within the advertising and communication industry, Mandayam was part of Mindshare as it saw a meteoric rise in India and across the globe. In his journey with Mindshare, which has seen him successfully manage multiple leadership roles, Mandayam was involved across diverse fields data, analytics, strategy, client leadership and business unit leadership. With his new stint as the CSO, he intends to bring this diverse cohort of skills to the table as he steers GroupM to new heights in South Asia.

“Starting his career with Mindshare in 2009 as head of the newly created “Business Planning” function, he went on to lead the North, East, and South offices. Later as the Chief Product Officer, he led specialist teams in driving strategic initiatives and creating bespoke tools that delivered client delight and recognition. He helped create diverse communities and a culture of learning and sharing. He has also been integral to the Mindshare new business powerhouse over the past decade,” the company shared in a recent press release. 

Under the leadership of Mandayam and Amin, Mindshare said it saw a plethora of new business wins, with Oppo, Zomato, Ferrero, Meesho, Uniqlo, IAC, RedBus, Upstox, Polycab, Great Learning and Preethi, being just a few of those that became part of the family. Mindshare also retained key clients like HUL, The Walt Disney Company, Kellogg’s, Home Center, and Max Fashion in this period.

In his new role, Parthasarathy Mandayam will be responsible for spearheading the growth and transformation of the company. Focusing on new-age technologies, products and offerings that require a transformation of both GroupM and client businesses, Mandayam aims to take GroupM to newer heights in the region. 

“I am extremely grateful to have such an amazing journey at GroupM. I think learning and change have always been a part of my career here. Furthermore, as our offerings become more specialized, we need to ensure synergy and seamless flow of expertise between the various players both internal, WPP and external to get the full benefits of both scale and specialization,” said Mandayam. “As I steer through this journey I will continue to push forward with the growth and transformation agenda to bring in significant synergies between new-age data, technology, consulting, products and offerings for our clients and internal stakeholders

The role of GroupM Chief Strategy Officer will be to channel data, technology, consumer understanding to chart the growth and transformation agenda. He will report to Prasanth Kumar, CEO GroupM South Asia.

Helping him in this endeavour would be Amin Lakhani who takes up the mantle of CEO South Asia Mindshare. 

Sharing his excitement for the next phase of his journey with Mindshare, Amis explains how the focus is squarely on “building on our existing momentum and driving Mindshare ‘Good Growth’ for our clients. New age data, technology, creativity, research, consulting, and products will play a major role in this journey. Our industry has always witnessed change. We’ve been at the centre of it and currently, the world is also witnessing this. Hence as marketers, we need to take charge and lead this journey for our clients and brands.” Lakhani has more than 20 years of experience in various roles in Mindshare and GroupM. In his previous role as Chief Operating Officer- Mindshare South Asia, he has been instrumental in driving the best practices and strengthening key client relationships.