MAM
Peers salute the Lodestar
|
Industry is quite unanimous in its opinion that Lodestar Media is a deep rooted agency that ensures the best value for their clients and is equipped with good media thinking. And it is to Shashi’s credit that they all sang paeans for the operation that he, Dias and Menon have built. Hear out some of the comments: “Lodestar is well integrated with its creative agency. They are good strategists and media thinkers. The core team has good people and are well trained in all aspects of the media. They are an agency which consciously focuses on planning.” – Group M CEO Ashutosh Srivastava, “Lodestar has an extremely strong bonding with their clients. The agency has some of the best minds in media with Shashi, Nandini and Arpita. Their strengths lie in planning and how they use consumer insights to make a difference to their clients.” – Madison Media Group CEO Punita Arumugam.  “I see Lodestar as a rock solid organisation, both on business and people. Their biggest plus point is their well-balanced performance, which comes through consistantly at the Emvies – where they shine through across a range of categories. From the outside, one gets the feeling that there is a large team effort at play within. Lodestar has built its credentials on the strength of its people and work, with a very understated PR approach.” – Mediacom South Asia president Jasmin Sohrabjee “Shashi is a good leader and runs a good planning agency. They have got some good local tools, and also have a good portfolio of clients which allows them to innovate. It’s a big achievement that they have managed to be in the same league as Mindshare.” – Media Direction CEO Sandip Tarkas. “Lodestar has been our media agency for the past five years, and the support that they have given us is commendable. The shift of the Henkel account was based on a global alignment and nothing to do with the performance of Lodestar. Considering we were based out of Chennai, Lodestar ensured good communication from Mumbai to its regional office.” – Henkel India president and managing director Satish Kumar “Lodestar is a very responsive agency and we get very good deals through them.” – Mahindra & Mahindra executive vice president marketing and sales Rajesh Jejurikar. A weakness if any some in industry point out to, off the record, is the perception that Lodestar is lacking in buying skills. Lodestar vice-president Nandini Dias dismisses this saying: “We believe in having a strategic focus even while buying. We don’t beat down media – we believe in the strategic intent of the brand.”
Adds Menon: “When we were handling Tata Motors, prior to the Tata AOR consolidating we had done a landmark TOI deal. There has never been a deal like that ever struck again. Lodestar does not give you the lowest rate, but it gives you the best buys.” |
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.
