MAM
Meru Life announces leadership move as VML’s Kalpesh Patel charts transition to co-founder and COO role
MUMBAI: Meru Life announced the appointment of Kalpesh Patel as Co-Founder, COO, and Head of Technology. He will be overseeing technology and operations for Meru Life.
With close to three decades of experience leading cross-functional technology teams across services and product ecosystems, Kalpesh is joining Meru Life at a pivotal time in its journey. In his new role, he will be responsible for driving the company’s end-to-end technology vision, scaling platform capabilities, running operations, and building user-first digital products tailored for India’s growing 55+ demographic.
Before serving as head of operations at VML Enterprise Solutions (India), Kalpesh held the position of Senior Vice President – MarTech at Mirum India, a VML Company, where he led the company’s marketing technology vertical, overseeing software engineering teams and spearheading the execution of large-scale digital transformation projects. Under his leadership, Mirum’s MarTech practice evolved into a platform-agnostic delivery hub for international clients looking for expertise in customer experience, engineering, and CRM. He also helped with the evolution and operations of VML Enterprise Solutions India Hub.
Speaking on his appointment, Kalpesh Patel shared, “Technology, when built right, can unlock dignity, joy, and ease, especially in the later stages of life. Meru Life’s purpose of enabling Active Seniors to live empowered, independent lives resonates deeply with my belief that tech should serve people, not overwhelm them. I look forward to co-creating an ecosystem that is intuitive, scalable, and purpose-built to enhance the everyday experiences of our country’s Active Seniors.”
Welcoming him to the leadership team, Meru Life co-founder & CEO, Mihir Karkare noted, “Kalpesh brings the perfect blend of technical depth, product thinking, and purpose-driven leadership that we need at this stage of our growth. His ability to lead agile, scalable technology teams will be instrumental as we expand Meru Life’s platform and build products that truly serve the needs of India’s Active Seniors with clarity, accessibility, and care. We’re excited for this next chapter with him.”
Kalpesh’s appointment reflects Meru Life’s continued investment in building senior-first, future-ready products and services to support India’s active seniors in their journey toward better health, connection, and independence.
MAM
WPP appoints Estée Lauder’s Anne-Isabelle Choueiri as chief transformation officer
Former Estée Lauder executive to lead operations, technology and culture overhaul under WPP’s three-year growth plan
LONDON: WPP has appointed Anne-Isabelle Choueiri as chief transformation officer in a newly created role tasked with delivering the group’s Elevate28 strategy.
Choueiri joins from The Estée Lauder Companies, where she led enterprise-wide strategic initiatives, including the “One ELC” operating model and major upgrades to enterprise marketing, data and analytics capabilities. She also led the redesign of enterprise technology teams and served on the company’s AI taskforce, driving AI strategy, adoption and value realisation across the business.
At WPP, she will be responsible for designing, implementing and embedding the operating model behind Elevate28, the company’s three-year growth plan unveiled in February 2026. She will lead efforts to improve innovation, efficiency and integration across WPP’s client offerings, with a focus on delivering agile, outcome-driven solutions and measurable growth.
Choueiri will oversee organisational transformation across the group, working closely with product and enterprise technology teams to deploy AI, data and technology to build new capabilities and improve operational performance. She will also work with the people function to embed cultural change, strengthen an agile performance mindset and support talent development across the organisation.
Before joining Estée Lauder, she held senior roles across consulting and digital agencies, including at Accenture, Masaï (a Bain & Company spin-off), and Kearney, with experience spanning strategy, data and digital marketing transformation.
Cindy Rose, chief executive officer of WPP, said Choueiri brings a strong track record of leading large-scale transformation across operations, technology and culture, adding that her appointment will help accelerate the group’s next phase of growth under Elevate28.
Choueiri said WPP’s strategy represents an ambitious opportunity to reshape how the company operates and delivers for clients, adding that she looks forward to building integrated solutions and fostering a culture of innovation and change.
She will be based in New York and will join WPP’s executive committee.
