MAM
Rohit Samarth is head of Terra in DDB Mudra Max
NEW DELHI: Rohit Samarth has joined DDB Mudra Max as senior vice president, heading the operations of Terra, its rural marketing agency.
Samarth comes from Percept Out of Home, where he was the business head of its rural vertical responsible for all its communication and marketing strategies. With more than 25 years of experience in the industry, Samarth has had the opportunity to work with some of the largest and the most recognised brands in the country.
He started his career with Nestle India, and later worked with various other companies like Media Workshop India, Amar Ujala Prakashan, India Infrastructure Publishing, UCP Integrated Marketing Solutions, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) and Linterland.
DDB Mudra Max president and head Mandeep Malhotra said, “I am excited for the positive change brought into the BOP offerings at DDB Mudra Max. Apart from great knowledge and experience, Rohit brings with him passion and energy to take the existing momentum of the team and the work to a whole new level.”
Samarth said, “I have some very exciting plans in mind and the focus this year will be to make DDB Mudra Max a serious contender for the top spot in the BoP space. Development of strong teams in all disciplines is another of my initial focus areas. I have no doubt that Terra will grow to be one of the most preferred and specialised rural communication solutions provider within the next two years.”
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.
