GroupM on Thursday announced the appointment of Sameer Singh (Sam Singh) as CEO of its South Asia operations. Sam will lead the continued development of GroupM’s data-centric enablement for its agencies as they deliver competitive advantage to clients with digital leadership and content. Based in Delhi (Gurugram) starting in July, Sameer will report to CVL Srinivas, Country Manager, WPP India and Mark Patterson, CEO GroupM Asia Pacific.
Sameer joins GroupM from Google India, where he was Director- Sales, responsible for the agency business. He was earlier based at Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California where he worked on measurement, brand consulting, insights and product solutions.
In a career spanning over 25 years across various geographies including India, China, UK, USA, and the Middle East, Sam, an alumnus of IIM Calcutta, worked across brand management, marketing services, media, forecasting ROI and research, sales and procurement at Gillette, P&G, GSK and Google. Prior to Google, he was VP, Global Media at GSK where he led their global pitch, set up the global media team and embedded digital excellence.
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Srinivas has been CEO for GroupM South Asia since January 2013. In October 2017, he was given the additional responsibility of Country Manager for WPP India. He will now transition fully to his WPP role.
On Sam’s appointment, CVL Srinivas, Country Manager, WPP India said, “When planning the leadership succession, we found in Sam the perfect candidate who could take GroupM South Asia to the next level. We have built a strong enabling environment for our agencies with data centricity, digital leadership and content services. Sam has a track record of driving change at organisations focused on media, technology, brands and ROI. I look forward to working with Sam who has been a client, a media partner and a friend for many years”.
Commenting on his appointment, Mark Patterson, CEO GroupM Asia Pacific said “Sam is a unique talent and a great business partner with a fantastic track record delivering growth for market-leading world-class businesses across the globe. He now joins another one, and we are excited, proud and pleased to welcome him to GroupM South Asia.”
Speaking on his appointment Sameer Singh said, “The India market is transitioning to the next level of media sophistication, with GroupM adroitly navigating this space for their clients, and along with their media partners. I am super excited to join the GroupM team on this wonderful journey, and I look forward to bringing to the table, my experiences built at Google, as a Marketer, and while working across emerging and developed markets. I look forward to contributing, and to learning from my colleagues, our clients, and our partners.”