GroupM appoints Parthasarathy Mandayam (Maps) as Chief Strategy Officer

Amin and Maps will continue to drive growth and transformation agenda for clients and internal stakeholders.

GroupM, the media investment group of WPP, today announced the appointment of Parthasarathy Mandayam (Maps) as the Chief Strategy Officer – GroupM South Asia and Amin Lakhani, who is elevated to the role of chief executive officer – Mindshare South Asia, which was earlier led by Maps.

Under the leadership of Maps and Amin, Mindshare saw a plethora of new business wins, with Oppo, Zomato, Ferrero, Meesho, Uniqlo, IAC, RedBus, Upstox, Polycab, Great Learning and Preethi, being just a few of those that became part of the family. Mindshare also retained key clients like HUL, The Walt Disney Company, Kellogg’s, Home Center, and Max Fashion in this period.

GroupM continues to invest in its talent, creating a strong leadership pipeline for the future driving the GroupM transformation journey for clients, partners, and internal teams.

With more than 25 years of experience in the advertising & communication industry, Maps has successfully managed multiple leadership roles in Mindshare – across Data, Analytics, Strategy, Client Leadership and Business Unit leadership. Starting his career with Mindshare in 2009 as head of the newly created “Business Planning” function, he went on to lead the North, East, and South offices. Later as the Chief Product Officer, he led specialist teams in driving strategic initiatives and creating bespoke tools that delivered client delight & recognition. He helped create diverse communities and a culture of learning and sharing. He has also been integral to the Mindshare new business powerhouse over the past decade.

The role of GroupM Chief Strategy Officer will be to channel data, technology, consumer understanding to chart the growth and transformation agenda. Map’s appointment into the new role is part of the strategy that envisions doubling the focus with a significant shift on new-age technologies, products and offerings that require a transformation of both GroupM and client businesses. He will report to Prasanth Kumar, CEO GroupM South Asia.