Ogilvy has announced that Devika Bulchandani has been promoted to global president of Ogilvy.
Devika, who joined Ogilvy last year as global chairwoman of advertising and CEO of Ogilvy North America, will expand her global responsibilities to encompass all five Ogilvy business units: Advertising, PR, Experience, Health, and Growth & Innovation.
She will partner with leaders across Ogilvy’s global network to continue modernizing the agency’s capabilities while helping to ensure we are delivering ideas that create impact for our clients and prospects alike. She will continue overseeing all aspects of Ogilvy’s business across the United States and Canada as CEO of North America.
Andy Main, global chief executive officer, said: “Dev is a leader with an acute understanding of our clients’ rapidly evolving needs and a track record of using creativity in all its forms to drive growth and impact. This new global role is a recognition of the dynamic partnership we developed over the past year as we’ve modernized Ogilvy’s offering, invested in talent, and delivered for our clients. I look forward to working with Dev as we further accelerate Ogilvy’s transformation at this moment of creative innovation, societal challenge, and growth opportunity in our industry.”
Devika said: “Partnering with Andy, and now Liz, over the past year has been invigorating as our respective backgrounds converge at the intersection of our clients’ evolving needs and where our industry is heading. I believe 2021 was a foundational year for our team and I’m excited about all the ways we will build on our momentum through innovative, effective creative work that inspires people and brands to impact the world.”
In November 2021, Ogilvy was named the most creative agency network in the world by WARC, a recognition of the agency’s creative strength and scale globally. Over the past 12 months Ogilvy has also been awarded new global assignments from brands such as Absolut, Enterprise Holdings, Zippo, James Hardie, and World of Hyatt as well as new business in North America from TD Bank, FEMA, and New York Philharmonic, among others. Additionally, Ogilvy was a part of the global WPP team that was named The Coca-Cola Company’s new Global Marketing Network Partner.
Devika joined Ogilvy in early 2021 as global chairwoman of advertising and CEO of Ogilvy North America. She previously served as president of North America for McCann Worldgroup. Prior to that role, Devika was president of McCann New York, the company’s lead office. Under her leadership that office experienced a period of significant growth and industry recognition that encompassed numerous creative, effectiveness and innovation awards. In 2019 she was recognised by Campaign Magazine as U.S. advertising agency head of the year.
Devika is deeply devoted to social causes that promote equality, diversity and inclusiveness. She is a founding member of Times Up Advertising, where she has tirelessly championed equality for women in advertising, particularly for women of color. In 2017, she was named “Working Mother of the Year” by She Runs It and is also a previous recipient of the AdColor Innovator Award. She has volunteered her time for numerous industry and community projects, including work with the Ad Council and is an active board member of the Ad Club in New York.
