From Amritsar to WPP HQ: Devika Bulchandani’s rise to Global COO

New Delhi: The global CEO of Ogilvy, Devika Bulchandani, will now be responsible for commercialising services and solutions across WPP as its newly appointed COO.

She will work closely alongside WPP agencies, leveraging their capabilities and geographical reach, while also overseeing the company’s Country Managers, global WPP growth teams and Global Client Leaders.

Born and brought up in India, Devika Bulchandan’s rise to one of the most powerful roles in global advertising has been nothing short of remarkable. 

Since taking charge as Global CEO of Ogilvy in September 2022, she has cemented the network’s place among the world’s top creative agencies. Over the last four years, she modernised Ogilvy’s core capabilities, broadened its client base and guided the agency to make history as the first network to be ranked both Most Creative and Most Effective in the world for three consecutive years (2023–2025) on WARC’s Creative 100 and Effective 100.

Under her leadership, Ogilvy became known for delivering ideas that were not only creatively ground-breaking but also effective in solving complex business problems,  a balance that reinforced the agency’s strength at the intersection of creativity, talent and business strategy.

Before taking over from Andy Main as Global CEO, Bulchandani had served as Global President and CEO of Ogilvy North America. Prior to that, she spent more than 26 years at McCann Worldgroup, eventually becoming President of McCann North America in 2017. During her time at McCann, she worked closely with Prasoon Joshi, CEO of McCann Worldgroup India and Chairman, APAC.

Her journey reflects deep Indian roots and a global outlook. Born in Amritsar, Bulchandani studied at Welham Girls’ School, Dehradun, before graduating in English and Psychology from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai. She moved to the United States in 1991 for her postgraduate studies in Communications at the University of Southern California.

Her professional career began humbly in 1995 at Anderson & Lembke in New York, where she worked unpaid for three months before securing her first role in account planning with a salary of \$18,000. She joined McCann in 1997 and stayed for over two decades, shaping some of the network’s most defining campaigns and building her reputation as a sharp strategist and empathetic leader.

Now, in September 2025, her elevation as Global COO of WPP , Ogilvy’s parent company,  underscores both her professional rise and her growing influence in shaping the future of global advertising.