• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, November 19, 2020

Devika Bulchandani has jumped from Interpublic’s McCann Worldgroup where she was president for the North America region to WPP’s Ogilvy where she has been appointed CEO North America and Global Chairwoman of Advertising. Ogilvy's NA CEO role has been vacant for years with separate leaders for the U.S. and Canada.

Bulchandani will be responsible for driving all aspects of Ogilvy’s core business across the U.S. and Canada. The offering includes  advertising, brand & content, public relations & influence, experience, growth & innovation, and health. She will also support Ogilvy's advertising business across the global network.   

Bulchandani is the most senior hire at the agency since Andy Main joined as Global CEO at the end of July.  Main stated: “Dev is a leader with relentless drive, a sharp understanding of our clients’ rapidly evolving needs, and an undeniable track record of using creativity as a catalyst for growth. With Dev leading our teams across North America, I’m confident that Ogilvy will be strongly positioned to deliver the ideas our clients need to create giant value for their businesses at speed and scale.”  

Up to now Bulchandani has spent her entire career at McCann, joining in 1997 as strategist. She was Chief Strategy Officer for 15 years and then served as president of McCann New York and then as president of McCannXBC, the agency’s dedicated MasterCard unit. She was named North American president in December 2019. 

“I'm invigorated by the opportunity to work with Andy to shape Ogilvy's future,” Balchandani stated. “At this time of immense change, I look forward to harnessing the creative brilliance and diverse expertise of Ogilvy's global network to solve problems and create lasting value for clients."