MAM
Geometry joins VMLY&R to create leading global commerce business
New Delhi: WPP has launched VMLY&R Commerce, a new end-to-end “Creative Commerce Company” combining the talent and scale of two thriving global offerings. VMLY&R Commerce will operate as a distinct company within the VMLY&R global network.
WPP agencies Geometry and VMLY&R will bring together their respective commerce capabilities to provide world-leading expertise and delivery for clients at a time of unprecedented global growth in e-commerce. VMLY&R Commerce will be led by global chief executive officer Beth Ann Kaminkow, currently global CEO of Geometry.
VMLY&R Commerce will be central to the VMLY&R network’s total brand and customer experience offering. It will help connected brands grow by unifying client strategies around commerce to drive both brand equity and conversion.
Kaminkow said: “Consumer experiences today are centered on commerce, making it increasingly important to our clients’ marketing and media decisions. As the pandemic accelerates new consumer behaviors and expectations, commerce is fast becoming the next channel for the most creative engagements and experiences. With the launch of VMLY&R Commerce, we can now offer our clients creative commerce at scale, harnessing data and technology to build brands and sell products across channels.”
Geometry has proven a key partner in helping clients navigate the new commerce landscape. VMLY&R has also seen substantial momentum across its customer experience practice, expanding its e-commerce business with client partners. VMLY&R Commerce will align these global powerhouses to create a best-in-class, end-to-end offer for clients. It will leverage the combined assets of the Geometry and VMLY&R networks, which between them have more than 11,000 employees across 80 countries worldwide.
VMLY&R Commerce will harness Geometry’s proprietary Living CommerceTM platform to guide strategic commerce consultation, development and activation across retail, design, experiential and innovation disciplines. Living Commerce facilitates the understanding of how, when and why people buy to deliver creative commerce solutions based on real human insights, driving commercial impact.
“I’m thrilled to work with Beth Ann on the evolution of our collective commerce offering through VMLY&R Commerce,” VMLY&R Global CEO Jon Cook said. “We have been partnering closely across many clients and it is clear we share a vision and belief in the role commerce plays in a consumer’s journey and creating connected brands. Importantly, we both have a deep passion for leading our businesses with a focus on culture – both internally and with our client partners which is essential in creating a new company built for the future.”
WPP CEO Mark Read said: “2020 has seen explosive growth in e-commerce as brands adapt to a new reality. This new company will offer outstanding creativity, industry-leading commerce expertise, and sophisticated data and technology skills to help brands grow in an omni-channel world. It also meets clients’ needs for simple, tightly integrated propositions from their marketing services partners.”
VMLY&R Commerce will be fully operational from January 1, 2021, and the integration of the agencies’ teams and assets will continue through 2021.
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.
