Mindshare names Apac CEO

GroupM agency Mindshare has found its replacement for former APAC CEO Amrita Randhawa, who departed in May to join Publicis Groupe: Helen McRae, who up until now served as Mindshare's EMEA and Worldwide Team CEO.

A native Australian, McRae is a 16-year veteran of the agency who has led 26 EMEA markets and the agency's global client teams from London since 2019. Prior to that she was CEO of Mindshare UK and ran the Unilever account globally from 2008 to 2012. Before joining Mindshare she held agency roles in Thailand, Malaysia, Korea and Australia.

She will be based in Singapore, transitioning to the role and the Lion City over a period of weeks. A search for a replacement in London is underway both internally and externally, the company said.

"I am thrilled to have Helen onboard to help Mindshare Asia with the next phase of our growth," Adam Gerhart, Mindshare global CEO, said in a release. "Helen has done an incredible job with the EMEA and Worldwide Team in London and will bring with her deep insight for our clients looking to the West to expand, as well as a rich history of working in Asia Pacific from her prior roles.”

McRae noted that Asia was the birthplace of Mindshare. "I am thrilled to be joining a team that I have long admired for their work and their passion and am looking forward to partnering with GroupM and WPP in the region," she said. "I am sad to leave EMEA but know that my colleagues will continue to go from strength to strength in fulfilling our Mindshare agenda and driving growth for our clients.”

Ashutosh Srivastava, APAC CEO, said it will be great to have McRae back in the region. "We look forward to Helen continuing to drive market leadership and excellence for the agency, drawing on her global client and EMEA region experience,” he said.

Under Randhawa, who led the agency in APAC starting in 2018, Mindshare maintained its status as a fixture at the top of the top of R3's APAC New Business League and also got top grades in Campaign Asia-Pacific's Agency Report Cards. She joined Publicis Groupe as CEO for Southeast Asia.

(This article first appeared on CampaignAsia.com)