MAM
Not just Bill Gates, several top CEOs expect normalcy only by 2022
MUMBAI: A few days back, during an interview given to Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza and television broadcaster TVN24, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates talked about the possible timeline in which the world will return to normalcy. During the interview, Gates predicted that the world will be completely back to normal from the Covid2019 pandemic by the end of 2022. And now, a new survey conducted by KPMG has suggested that most of the CEOs of the world's most influential companies do not expect a return to normalcy this year.
Return to normalcy in 2022
The survey involved 500 CEOs from 11 key markets (Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Spain, the UK, and the US) and it tried to shed light on the CEOs’ views on business growth resumption post the Covid pandemic, their views on vaccine distribution, their top-of-mind organisational risks, and business transformation priorities going forward.
According to the survey, 45 per cent CEOs believe that 'return to normal' will not happen this year, and they expect normality to resume in 2022. The lack of Covid vaccine distribution among their workforces is one of the major reasons that made these business leaders predict a realistic timeline that is needed to achieve a possible return to normal.
One-third of the CEOs (31 percent) who took part in the survey anticipated a return to normal this year. Interestingly, 24 per cent of those surveyed revealed that their business has changed forever due to the coronavirus outbreak.
55 per cent CEOs claimed that the perceived pace of vaccination distribution is prominent. These CEOs stated that they are very much concerned that not all of their employees will get inoculated, and it could negatively impact their business operations.
61 per cent of the company owners revealed that they will wait for a successful vaccine rollout before asking their employees to return to the office. 90 per cent of the CEOs intend to ask employees to report to the company if they get vaccinated.
CEOs adopting new strategies
In the changing world of business due to the Covid outbreak, most of the CEOs made it clear that their primary goal is to ensure the safety of the workforce. 26 per cent of the CEOs say they will cut down on international travel until the end of the pandemic.
Just 17 per cent of the CEOs who took part in the survey revealed that they are planning to downsize the company's physical footprint. 57 per cent of those interviewed plan to conduct customer engagement and queries predominantly via virtual platforms such as chatbots, telephone, web, and social media.
Digitisation is a new trend that is happening in the world of business due to the Coronavirus outbreak.
"A sizeable majority of leaders have reported acceleration of new digital business models and revenue streams (69 per cent) and to develop a seamless digital customer experience (56 per cent). This year, CEOs plan to spend more on digital technologies than last year, with 52 per cent prioritising data security measures, 50 per cent focusing on customer-centric technologies, and 49 per cent committed to digital communications, such as video conferencing and messaging capabilities," states the study report.
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.
