MAM
WPP buys digital agency AKQA
MUMBAI: Global advertising giant WPP is buying stake in San Francisco based digital agency AKQA, the last big digital shops not yet public or owned by a holding company.
Though the purchase price was not revealed, the digital agency is valued at $450 million and trade estimates peg the price around that figure.
AKQA is backed by private-equity firm General Atlantic and at the end of 2011 had gross assets of $282 million with a forecast of profits to the tune of $230 million in 2012 as opposed to $189 million in 2011.
The announcement was made during the annual Cannes Lions held in Paris, France. AKQA will continue to operate as an independent and standalone brand within WPP and be led by founder and CEO Ajaz Ahmed and chairman Tom Bedecarré.
Bedacarre will also become president of WPP Ventures, a new Silicon-Valley based digital investment company.
Two years back, AKQA was approached by Japanese media house Dentsu, but the latter soon exited the talks. According top media reports, the asking price at the time was between $550 million and $600 million which was also speculated to be the reason for Dentsu’s withdrawal.
WPP too tried twice before things finally fell in place.
AKQA currently employs 1,160 people all over the globe and has offices in U.S., Europe and Shanghai. It provides expertise in integrated digital communications campaigns, social media, mobile, gaming work, and content creation and has clients like Delta, Diageo, EDF, GAP, Google, Microsoft Xbox, Nike, Target, Unilever and Virgin Money.
MUMBAI: In India’s fast-moving payments race, Visa has just swiped in a new leader. The company has named Suresh Sethi as its India country head, marking a key leadership shift as it sharpens its focus on digital payments growth in the market. Sethi steps into the role following his recent exit from Protean eGov Technologies, where he served as chief executive officer. He succeeds Sandeep Ghosh, who has moved on after more than four years at Visa to pursue an external opportunity.
The appointment comes at a time when Visa is doubling down on its expansion strategy across India and the wider region, deepening partnerships and accelerating adoption in an increasingly competitive digital payments ecosystem.
Sethi brings with him a broad, cross-market perspective shaped by decades of experience across corporate banking, retail financial services, mobile money and large-scale government technology initiatives. He began his career at Citigroup, where he spent 14 years working across India, Africa, South America and the United States, focusing on transaction banking services within the corporate bank.
His appointment signals a blend of institutional experience and market familiarity qualities that could prove critical as Visa navigates a landscape where fintech innovation, regulatory evolution and consumer adoption are all accelerating at once.
As digital payments in India continue to scale rapidly, the leadership change underscores a simple reality, in a market where every tap, scan and swipe counts, who leads the charge can matter just as much as the technology itself.
