MAM
FCB Cogito elevates Vidyadhar Wabgaonkar as CEO
Mumbai: FCB Group India has announced the elevation of Vidyadhar Wabgaonkar as the CEO of FCB Cogito, the independent consulting arm of the Group in India. The announcement comes as part of the Group’s recent restructuring of operations in a three-agency structure of FCB Ulka, FCB Interface, and FCB India.
Vidyadhar Wabgaonkar, popularly known as Wabs, has been leading FCB Cogito for over four years now. An engineering gold medalist and a rank holding MBA from IIM Kolkata, Wabgaonkar comes with a rich marketing background that includes stints in P&G India and MARICO Industries. According to the Group, his expertise lies in the seamless combination of qualitative and quantitative aspects and the application of tenets of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) to marketing and business management. He is also a certified life coach and a Master Practitioner of NLP.
Under Wabs’s aegis, FCB Cogito Consulting has come to be known for its strong proprietary products like ‘Chess’ for getting clients ready for competition and future and ‘Brand Hormone’ for rejuvenating brands, it said in a statement.
The Group is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, and this elevation comes in at a very crucial time when the agency is looking forward to the next 60 years in India, it added.
Speaking on Wabgaonkar’s elevation, FCB Ulka vice-chairman Karkare, said, “FCB Cogito has been the secret weapon in our armory. It represents our capability to solve higher-order problems for our clients with data and insight-driven solutions. It is our intellectual capital, and a means to provide strategic partnership to our clients. Wabs always brings a fresh perspective, and in today’s times, his unique skills are going to be invaluable to brands as they navigate uncharted terrains.”
Speaking on his new role, Wabgaonkar said, “ FCB Cogito believes that most clients have the resources required to be successful. It is the paradigm that connects the resources that often need evolution. ‘Why buy me’ is the most important question that each brand needs to answer, and the answer frequently lies well beyond the tangible aspects of the brand. A good answer and a consensus around it, together multiply the force of selling and marketing manifold.”
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.
