Wunderman Thompson names new CEO for Indonesia

Wunderman Thompson has appointed Samir Gupte as the new chief executive officer of its Indonesia operations. He will take over from its previous CEO, Vaishali Sarkar, and his appointment is effective immediately. 

“My focus now will be to strengthen our capabilities in CX, data, content and e-commerce, and drive growth for our clients in Indonesia,” Gupte said. He added that he was excited about the next chapter of his career. 

Don’t miss: Wunderman Thompson promotes Carter Chow to CEO Greater China

Gupte comes with more than 25 years of experience within WPP and joins from Ogilvy where he most recently served as executive director and head of operations. During his time there, he handled operations in India and Indonesia. 

Audrey Kuah, APAC CEO of Wunderman Thompson continued by saying, “Gupte brings integrated marketing experience growing some of the world’s largest brands in Southeast Asia’s largest economy.”  

Moving from India to Indonesia in 2013, he initially served as managing director of OgilvyAction where he led the merger that formed Geometry Global - before making the move to SohoSquare, Ogilvy’s second integrated agency in 2016. After two years, Gupte took over the managing director role at Ogilvy Indonesia.  

“His expertise in integrating brand, digital, data and technology, combined with his growth ambition for us, we are pleased to have Gupte join our leadership team,” said Kuah.

Wunderman Thompson Indonesia has been responsible for some of the market's most successful campaigns, inspiring and delivering growth for global and local brands. Gupte’s appointment follows the recent news of Carter Chow’s promotion to CEO of Wunderman Thompson Greater China. 

It is a new role that the promotion comes as Wunderman Thompson focuses on building a united approach and strategy in Greater China, as more client opportunities call for a consolidated response from agencies. In his new role, Chow will report to Audrey Kuah, CEO of APAC.

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