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Karima Zmerli is Edelman’s new global head – performance & predictive intelligence
NEW DELHI: Communications firm Edelman has tapped Karima Zmerli as global head of performance and predictive intelligence for its data and intelligence unit (DxI).
In the new role, Zmerli will lead performance and predictive intelligence globally and oversee media buying and marketing strategies for clients. She will be based in New York and report to Edelman DxI global chief data & analytics officer Yannis Kotziagkiaouridis.
The hire is part of Edelman’s effort to grow its media, data and technology capabilities as clients adapt to digital transformation and major changes to the media ecosystem, such as the loss of Apple’s IDFA mobile identifier and third-party cookies phasing out.
Zmerli joins Edelman from the media agency world, as chief data sciences officer at GroupM’s Wavemaker since 2016, where she helped generate over $1 billion in new business. She joined Edelman to help clients adapt to new use cases for data and technology as privacy becomes top of mind.
“We have to open our horizons and think about the consumer relationship with the brand differently than in a transactional way,” Zmerli said. “Edelman is in a very unique position to understand consumer trust in corporations and brands, a fundamental element to brand strategy and communication.”
Zmerli is Edelman’s latest hire in a bid to bolster its research and data capabilities, with talent across data science, engineering, software development and performance marketing. Most recently, the firm hired David Bartram Shaw as SVP and global head of data science; Anjuli Bedi as global head of behavioural science and psychometrics; Tim Hwang as global head of product; Jacob Loban as EVP and US head of performance intelligence; and Matt Sato as EVP
MAM
Coca-Cola appoints Tapaswee Chandele as Global Chief People Officer
Succeeds Lisa Chang from May 1, reports to CEO Henrique Braun
MUMBAI- When leadership refreshes, culture often follows and The Coca-Cola Company is pouring a new mix into its global people strategy. The company has appointed Tapaswee Chandele as its Global Chief People Officer, marking a key transition in its human resources leadership as long-time executive Lisa Chang steps down after seven years in the role.
The appointment, effective May 1, positions Chandele at the helm of Coca-Cola’s global people agenda at a time when multinational organisations are rethinking talent, culture and leadership pipelines in an increasingly hybrid and competitive workforce landscape.
In her new role, she will report to chief executive officer Henrique Braun, signalling the strategic importance of HR within the company’s top leadership structure.
Chandele brings over two decades of institutional knowledge to the role. She currently serves as senior vice president and executive assistant to president and chief financial officer John Murphy, a position she has held since May 2025, placing her at the centre of the company’s financial and operational decision-making. Prior to this, she spent six years, from 2019 to 2025, as senior vice president of global talent, development and HR system partnerships, where she led Coca-Cola’s worldwide talent strategy and worked closely within Chang’s leadership team.
Her journey with Coca-Cola began in 2001 in India, and over the years she has built a cross-market perspective through roles spanning human resources and talent development. Her international assignments across Turkiye and South Africa, followed by a relocation to the United States in 2017, reflect a career shaped by both geographic and functional diversity, an increasingly critical trait for global leadership roles.
The transition also marks the end of Lisa Chang’s seven-year tenure, during which she played a central role in shaping Coca-Cola’s global people practices through a period defined by organisational transformation and evolving workforce expectations.
Chandele’s elevation comes at a time when HR is no longer a back-office function but a strategic driver of growth, culture and resilience. As Coca-Cola looks ahead, the focus will likely be on aligning talent strategy with business agility ensuring that the people behind the brand remain as globally adaptive as the product itself.
