Staff Reporters
Aug 26, 2020

Ajit Varghese quits as global president of Wavemaker

Resigns after under 13 years spent in various roles in India, APAC and globally.

Ajit Varghese
Ajit Varghese

Ajit Varghese has resigned as president at Wavemaker. He joined WPP’s media buying arm Maxus, now Wavemaker, as south Asia managing director in 2006 and was promoted to APAC head in January 2014. When Maxus merged with MEC to form Wavemaker in 2018, he was apponted president at the end of the year, after building the former into pole position in markets such as India. 

At the time of his departure, Varghese ran Wavemaker's business across 50 countries and led a team of over 3,000 people.  Varghese was an accidential advertising industry leader, who was trained to be an agricultural engineer and wanted a career in the Indian Air Force early on.

Instead, his career in marketing and advertising saw him start off with market research firm IMRB, before climing up the ladder across agencies such as Initiative Universal Media and Madison World, and finding his way to Maxus. In a starring role at Maxus India, he grew the agency to second place and was rewarded first with the role of APAC head, for which he relocated to Singapore and then the global president's job, for which he moved to London. 

During his India stint, he signed up brands such as Nokia, Vodafone, L’Oreal and ITC. When Nokia and Vodafone came to India, they chose Maxus, despite being handled by other agency groups worldwide. Varghese confirmed his deaprture in a LinkedIn post. 

 

Source:
Campaign India

Related Articles

Just Published

5 hours ago

Swiss Beauty’s #SajDhajKe: Empowering brides, ...

The campaign celebrates the modern-day bride who takes the reins of her wedding as opposed to the traditional, reserved bride of the past.

5 hours ago

'No strategic marketing program can overcome a lack ...

Weber Shandwick's sustainability lead for APAC, Marta Bigio, laments the deprioritisation of sustainability amidst competing global crises but highlights five ways communicators can ensure sustainability remains a priority.

5 hours ago

'Your idea must impress, your craft must evoke ...

Ogilvy's Kainaz Karmakar, jury president for the Design and Industry Craft category talks about what it takes to win at the 2025 Spikes Asia awards.

8 hours ago

Zepto’s Jarvis move sparks the in-sourcing vs ...

SOUNDING BOARD: Is the quick-commerce’s in-house ad agency move a game-changer—or a creative crisis—for agencies? Campaign finds out.