GroupM makes CEO change in South Asia

GroupM promoted Prasanth Kumar from COO to CEO in South Asia, where he will take over leadership from current CEO Sam Singh, who is leaving for a senior role at ByteDance in India.

Singh will leave at the end of June after about a year in the role, but Kumar, known as "PK", takes over as CEO immediately, the company said.

Kumar, who was only promoted to COO in January, has performed to the "highest levels" for 15 years in GroupM and agency roles, said Mark Patterson, CEO of GroupM Asia Pacific. Kumar will work with Patterson, WPP country manager CVL Srinivas, local leadership, clients and media partners on "ambitious plans to continue to leading growth in the market", Patterson added.

"I’d like to thank Sam for his hard work and leadership and wish him all the best in his new role," he said. "No doubt, we will work closely with him and his new team in the future."

Singh extended congratulations to PK on his promotion and said it had been a privilege working with GroupM for the last year. "To ensure a smooth transition, PK and I will be closely working together,” he added.

Kumar said he is humbled and thrilled to take on the CEO role in one of the world's most dynamic and fastest-growing markets.

Sam Singh