MAM
GroupM forms R&D partnership with Singapore Economic Development Board
MUMBAI: GroupM has inked a new R&D partnership with the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), the lead government agency for planning and executing strategies to enhance Singapore’s position as a global business center.
The three-year plan will support the set-up of a global R&D team in the Singapore market with a focus on developing new data science technologies that extend GroupM’s leading position in media investment management.
Under the terms of the development plan, GroupM will increase the number of PhDs in data sciences and analytics it hires for its Singapore operations, as well as expand its relationship with the country’s advanced science and technology institutions, through a strategic investment by EDB. The collaboration will enhance Singapore’s position in attracting the world’s most talented data scientists through new jobs in the Singapore market. Against a backdrop of fierce global competition for these experts, the partnership will further support Singapore as a key destination for data science and analytics professionals, providing skilled candidates with industry-leading opportunities to develop their careers as part of GroupM.
“The rapid worldwide growth of data-driven advertising has driven a corresponding, and massive, demand for PhD level data scientists to design and implement these next generation media technologies. With today’s partnership, GroupM gains a valuable advantage in attracting the most astute and promising minds to our Singapore R&D operations while advancing Singapore as a world center for the development of the industry’s most advanced media products,” said GroupM Analytics chief data officer and CEO Harvey Goldhersz.
The agreement is unique in the media industry, recognizing GroupM’s preeminence in the data and analytics areas and providing an increased number of data-science jobs in Singapore outside of the academic realm. GroupM’s R&D operations will leverage Singapore’s infrastructure and talent pool to provide professionals with favorable conditions in which to develop their careers.
The Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) has been working closely with the industry to build up a comprehensive ecosystem as part of its vision for Singapore to become a regional digital marketing hub.
Singapore Economic Development Board assistant managing director Kelvin Wong added, “We welcome the establishment of GroupM R&D in Singapore, and the transformative effect it will have on how brandowners plan and buy media. It will also create opportunities for analytics talent to work in the exciting and fast-moving space of media investment management, and contribute to EDB’s goal of developing 2,500 analytics professionals in Singapore by 2017.”
MAM
Gurpreet Singh named President of DishTV Alumni Network
Former Dish TV executive to lead community building and collaboration.
MUMBAI: Back to the dish, but this time it’s about connections, not channels Gurpreet Singh is returning to familiar territory with a new mandate that swaps subscribers for relationships. Singh has been appointed President of the DishTV Alumni Network, a move aimed at strengthening ties among former employees and building a more engaged professional community around the Dish TV ecosystem. The initiative reflects a growing trend among large organisations to formalise alumni networks as platforms for collaboration, mentorship and business opportunities.
The appointment draws on Singh’s deep-rooted history with Dish TV, where he held multiple leadership roles over nearly a decade. As National Business Head between June 2019 and September 2020, he oversaw profit and loss as well as operations, managing revenues of Rs 6,000 crore and leading a team of around 1,250 employees across the country. His tenure included working alongside two regional business heads and 16 circle heads, underscoring the scale of operations he handled.
Prior to that, Singh served as Executive Vice President and National Head for Sales and Revenue from 2016 to 2019, and earlier as Senior Vice President and National Head for Sales and Revenue. He also briefly led international operations as Country Head for Sri Lanka, further expanding his exposure across markets.
His broader career spans leadership roles across telecom and consumer businesses, including a stint as Chief Operating Officer at Bharti Airtel’s Malawi operations, senior leadership roles at Reliance Communications, and earlier positions at Hindustan Sanitaryware and Kodak India, where he spent over a decade.
In his new role, Singh is expected to focus on reconnecting former employees, fostering collaboration, and building a structured alumni ecosystem that leverages shared experience and industry networks. As companies increasingly recognise the long-term value of their extended workforce, the DishTV Alumni Network appears set to turn nostalgia into a strategic asset, one connection at a time.
