Wunderman Thompson's executive director of strategic initiatives APAC retires after 30 years

Wunderman Thompson's executive director of strategic initiatives across the APAC region, Tarun Rai, will be retiring after 30 years in the ad industry, according to the agency in a statement. 

Rai joined Wunderman Thompson in 1988 as an account executive and quickly rose through the ranks to become managing partner at global ad agency J. Walter Thompson (JWT) which merged with Wunderman in 2018 to form Wunderman Thompson. 

After a stint in Media following this, Tarun returned to JWT as Group CEO, South Asia – growing the agency by diversifying the organization’s capabilities, resulting in stronger collaboration between agency and clients and the onboarding of great national and international brands.

After leading the merger between Wunderman and JWT, Rai was appointed chairman and Group CEO for South Asia and began to help steer the organisation through the pandemic.

Don't miss: Wunderman Thompson bolsters regional leadership team with new hires

He was then appointed executive director of strategic initiatives across the APAC region in 2022.

Rai noted that he owed his career to Wunderman Thompson. He added that the agency provided him innumerable opportunities to grow. "I have so many leaders of Wunderman Thompson and WPP to thank for placing their trust in me. It was an honor to lead exceptional teams in my different roles. Excellent professionals who made my job both easy and enjoyable," he said. 

"I am also indebted to all our clients who I have worked with over the last three decades, for their friendship and support. We partnered them in building some of the most powerful brands in the country. It has been an incredible journey – exciting, fulfilling and rewarding," Rai said.

“We would like to thank Rai for his leadership and contribution to Wunderman Thompson and the industry over the past thirty years. His leadership in India helped pave the way for great success for our agencies and we wish him a happy retirement” said Ewen Sturgeon, CEO, international, Wunderman Thompson.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out for more information. 

On a leadership front, McCann Worldgroup bolstered its Southeast Asia leadership team with new appointments, including Charlie Lowe being promoted to the newly-created regional role of chief strategy officer and Aishah Haroon being named the director of client services and operations across MRM Singapore and Hong Kong.

Both of them report to McCann Worldgroup SEA's president, Nick Handel.

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