Mindshare appoints R Gowthaman as Global Chief Strategy Officer for FAST

Mindshare, the global media agency that is part of WPP, is placing its FAST (Future Adaptive Specialist Team) integrated performance unit at the heart of its business as part of an ongoing transformation program evolving the agency into an Adaptive Marketing organization to help clients do the same.
FAST simplifies the data, technology and content work streams for clients and integrates all branding and performance assets, providing an efficient single view across all markets and channels delivering performance marketing.

Powered by best in class talent and technology, including the recently launched mPlatform from GroupM, FAST also taps the open ecosystem leveraging the best AI, e-commerce and dynamic content solutions where applicable.

As an integrated service, FAST dovetails with traditional media planning and buying services, enabling maximum efficiency in driving insights, targeting, allocating investment, activating and optimizing across all media and helps Mindshare clients move faster to an outcome-based performance approach.

Norm Johnston, formerly Mindshare Global Chief Strategy and Digital Officer, assumes the dual role of Global Chief Digital Officer Mindshare and Global CEO of FAST as part of the move.

Other appointments to the FAST leadership team include:

Gowthaman Ragothaman, currently Mindshare APAC Chief Operating Officer and WPP Global Client Lead on PepsiCo, takes the role of Global Chief Strategy Officer for FAST and retains the title of WPPGlobal Client Lead for PepsiCo.

Barry Lee, currently head of the London-based Mindshare Worldwide FAST Hub, who adds the additional role of Chief Product Officer for FAST.

Tom Johnson, currently Performance Marketing Director at Mindshare Worldwide, who takes the role of Chief Client Officer for FAST.

Adam Ray, formerly Global Head of Programmatic at Mindshare Worldwide, who assumes the role of Chief Innovation Officer for FAST.

The global FAST team will be supported by the regional FAST Hub leaders: Robin Wong (APAC), Matias Galimberti (LATAM) and Brian Decicco (NA).

Nick Emery, Mindshare Global CEO, said, ”Clients need us to marry our abilities in brand building and outcome based performance marketing. FAST has been a key part of our overall integrated offer to clients and with Norm’s leadership team we are looking forward to helping our clients achieve greater success. There is much more to come on our transformation journey.”

Norm Johnston, Mindshare Worldwide Chief Digital Officer and CEO of FAST, said, "We believe that modern Adaptive Marketers need to be experts in both brand and performance marketing and that only by offering an integrated approach will we truly achieve success for our clients, making their messaging relevant, timely and targeted whether it is brand or demand in nature. That is why FAST sits at the heart of an integrated Mindshare offering, not as an external agency.”

In January Mindshare and sister WPP creative agency Grey London partnered to establish Mindshare FAST@Grey London: a bespoke unit combining creative, data and media planning and buying to deliver adaptive, personalized, programmatic advertising. Mindshare FAST@Grey London is another example of the integrated approach taken by Mindshare FAST as it is fueled by the insights and data from WPP owned Kantar, the home to the world’s leading research, data and insight brands.

An example of the horizontally integrated nature of FAST was the launch in January of Mindshare FAST@Grey London as a bespoke unit combining creative, data and media planning and buying from Mindshare, Grey and Kantar, to deliver adaptive, personalized, programmatic advertising.

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