MAM
Adfactors PR launches four year scholarship program with FCF
Mumbai: Adfactors PR on Wednesday has partnered with the Future Communicators Foundation, commonly known as FCF, to launch a four-year scholarship program. With this, Adfactors PR joins four leading global agencies in providing FCF scholarships that further communication skills around social justice, sustainability, and civil society.
Adfactors co-founder and director Madan Bahal was welcomed by foundation founder Allard Van Veen (Canada) as a founding member of the FCF Scholarship program, joining partners including fischerAppelt (Germany), SPRG (Hong Kong) and FINN Partners (New York). Each agency has committed to providing $10,000 in scholarships over the next four years.
In addition to the $10,000 provided by Adfactors PR for future communicator scholarships, the Future Communicators Foundation provides its annual program, with a focus on young scholars and aspiring professionals in developing countries and underserved communities. Partner universities will be announced for foundation scholarships in the coming months, with $1,00,000 in scholarship funding donated by founder Allard W. van Veen.
“Whether we are engaged in preventing disease or promoting sustainability, the world, more than ever, requires effective future communicators,” said Allard.
Future Communicators Scholarships will be available at education institutions selected by funding partners and will fund communications education, tools, and training for young professionals, including professional development and travel to conferences. The scholarship program calls on applicants to develop a mock campaign addressing pressing social justice issues, and provides recipients with international networking through its global cohort, executive-level mentoring, and training opportunities with internships.
Speaking of this initiative, Bahal said, “We are pleased to support the international scholarships instituted by the Future Communicators Foundation. Adfactors PR has been at the forefront in supporting the continuous learning and development efforts of PR professionals in India. The Future Communicators Scholarships add an international dimension to our efforts and we hope to benefit many young professionals aspiring to make a career in public relations.”
SPRH Asia founder and chairman Richard Tsang said, “SPRG has spared no effort to nurture the next generation of PR practitioners, by providing them with training and exposure that extends beyond local borders. We are therefore pleased to support the Future Communicators Foundation with this scholarship, as it will open doors for communication students to gain truly global connections and experiences.”
FINN Partners CEO and founder managing partner Peter Finn added, “We are very pleased to add our support for the Future Communicators Scholarships. FINN Partners has a long history of supporting young people interested in entering the PR field.”
“Our support of The Future Communicators Scholarships will add an international pillar to our scholarship program. We are keen to professionalize young people’s enthusiasm for communication and to find them an entry into the agency world,” said fischerAppelt founder and managing director Andreas Fischer-Appelt.
AD Agencies
WPP Media elevates Dipti Gulati to vp, client growth for APMEA
Singapore-based executive to commercialise AI-powered solutions business across the region
SINGAPORE: WPP Media has promoted Dipti Gulati to vice president, client growth, handing her the mandate to lead the commercialisation of its solutions business across APMEA.
Based in Singapore, Gulati steps up after serving as senior director, client growth, where she drove expansion across APAC spanning programmatic, search, social, CTV, DOOH and cross-channel offerings. Now, she is tasked with translating advanced AI, data and technology ecosystems into scalable growth strategies for global brands across FMCG, luxury, F&B and financial services.
“I commercialise the future of media — at scale, across APMEA,” Gulati said, announcing her appointment. She added that she turns advanced data, AI and technology ecosystems into real commercial outcomes, shifting the conversation “from a pure media play to owning business outcomes”.
Her brief is unapologetically future-facing: addressable, accountable and AI-powered media. She will work with cross-market teams across APMEA, bringing together diverse perspectives and cultures to accelerate growth and build what she calls the “future of media”.
Gulati’s rise caps nearly two years at WPP Media and follows a six-month stint as regional director of growth, APAC, at Mindshare, where she led new business development and expanded capabilities for existing clients. Earlier, as global account director for integrated marketing communications on the Unilever business, she drove communications strategy for multi-million dollar beauty and wellbeing brands across Southeast Asia.
Before that, Gulati spent close to two years as associate director at Warner Bros. Discovery in Singapore. She also served as director, strategic partnerships and market development at TrustSphere, leading go-to-market and growth initiatives across Asia and evangelising relationship analytics to C-level executives. TrustSphere, credited by industry and Harvard Business School case studies as a pioneer in relationship analytics, became a springboard for her deeper engagement with data-driven growth.
Her board and evangelist roles at the Asia Cloud Computing Association and its Asia Analytics Alliance further sharpened her regional policy and analytics credentials. Earlier chapters include marketing consultancy at Blockchain Foundry and a seven-year run at Warner Bros. Discovery in India, where she led ad-sales and business development for HBO and WB across north and east India, delivering record billings. She began her career at Diligent Media Corporation Ltd and Bennett, Coleman and Co. Ltd..
From ad-sales floors in Delhi and Mumbai to boardrooms in Singapore, Gulati’s arc mirrors the industry’s own shift — from selling spots and slots to engineering outcomes through data and AI. At WPP Media, the brief is clear: scale smarter, move faster and turn algorithms into advantage.
