WPP establishes global engineering centre in Chennai, India

WPP is establishing a global engineering centre (GEC) in Chennai, India with the aim of developing the company's technology offering.

The centre will house a team of over 200 IT professionals to start with, who will support several areas including platform services, cloud and network infrastructure, engineering and operations across core products, and cyber security.

WPP said it will work to establish a permanent office location in Chennai over the next eight months.

The company said it chose to base the centre in Chennai due to its "vast candidate pool and strong IT capabilities".

It also "reaffirms a commitment to India as a key market for large scale growth", WPP said.

WPP CEO Mark Read said: "WPP is genuinely invested in growing our presence in India and increasing our focus on recruiting highly skilled talent at a local level—not only in our creative industries but also in the technology industry."

"The pandemic has caused a fundamental shift in the way most businesses operate. Technology, now more than ever, is the primary driver of growth, and will be critical to help us build back not just better—but best," Read added.

CVL Srinivas, country manager, India of WPP said: "India is already playing a major role in WPP’s transformation with over 4000 people working across several global technology COEs. The GEC will add to this talent pool and help us scale technology across our global company. We are excited to welcome our colleagues in Chennai."