Ogilvy recently announced that Devika (Dev) Bulchandani, who was born in Amritsar, would be taking on the role of Global Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Her statement follows Starbucks’ recent hiring of Laxman Narasimhan, who was born in Pune.
With this appointment, Bulchandani joins the ranks of such luminaries as Sundar Pichai of Google, Satya Nadella of Microsoft, Shantanu Narayen of Adobe, Punit Renjen of Deloitte, Raj Subramaniam of FedEx, and others.
A successful woman executive with a lengthy list of accomplishments, Bulchandani is well recognized as the driver behind Mastercard’s groundbreaking and enduring “Priceless” advertising campaign.
Who is Devika Bulchandani?
In his 26 years at McCann, Bulchandani, who was born in the city of Amritsar in Punjab, played a number of crucial roles in the company’s expansion.
She also oversaw the “True Name” initiative, which was Mastercard’s first-of-its-kind initiative for 2019, empowering transgender and non-binary persons to use their chosen name while making purchases.
Ideas of Bulchandani are often cited as examples of the “cultural zeitgeist,” or the collective feeling of a certain time and place. She was also responsible for the “Fearless Girl” campaign, a landmark for women’s rights that won a record number of awards at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity.
Throughout her career, Bulchandani has garnered a number of awards. Among them are the titles of “Working Mother of the Year” by She Runs It, “ADCOLOR Innovator,” “NY Power Woman” by Moves Magazine, and “US Advertising Agency Head of the Year” by Campaign Magazine.
Formerly, Bulchandani was the Global President and CEO of Ogilvy North America. Ad industry heavyweight Bulchandani will now be in charge of running the creative network’s operations across all of its 131 locations in 93 different countries. She will be responsible for leading Ogilvy’s several departments, including the Advertising, PR, Experience, Consulting, and Health teams. As part of her new position at WPP, she will also join the company’s Executive Committee.
Next month, she will receive one of New York Women in Communications’ (NYWIC) 2022 Matrix Awards, presented to women who have made a significant impact in their areas, created a sense of community, and inspired the next generation of female leaders.
