Wavemaker appoints Ajay Gupte as Chief Operating Officer, South Asia

Wavemaker, the global media, content, and technology agency, today announced the appointment of Ajay Gupte as the Chief Operating Officer for Wavemaker, South Asia, and Amir Suherlan, who will be the new Managing Director for Wavemaker Indonesia.

Commenting on the appointment, Kartik Sharma, CEO – Wavemaker, South Asia said, “It is an absolute pleasure to have Ajay back in India. Under his leadership as MD of Indonesia since 2011, Wavemaker (erstwhile MEC) has grown exponentially and is now ranked as top 3 agency in the country. Ajay is a passionate leader and I am confident that he will be able to grow Wavemaker as an agency of the future.”     

Commenting on the move, Rose Huskey, CEO – Wavemaker, South East Asia said, “Ajay has been instrumental in grooming and leading successful teams, accelerating the agency’s digital business, and putting Wavemaker Indonesia at the #2 spot in the country. I am sure he will be an asset to India and I’ll like to thank him for his great leadership.”

Ajay has successfully led the MEC-Maxus merger in Indonesia. Under his stewardship, Wavemaker Indonesia won several blue-chip clients and many global and local accolades for the agency.  

Commenting on his new role, Ajay said, “I am very excited to be back in India. The media scene in India is vibrant and offers unlimited opportunity for marketeers. With our future-focused offering around Media, Content, and Technology, Wavemaker is uniquely positioned to deliver maximum impact for our clients. I am delighted that the next lap of my journey continues with Wavemaker where I can contribute to delivering this promise.”

In his earlier role in India, Ajay worked with Maxus (now part of Wavemaker) as General Manager in Delhi office managing clients like Nokia, Hero Honda and others. Prior to joining Maxus, Ajay held various roles in Sales and Marketing with TVS Motor Company.

Taking over Ajay’s reins as Managing Director of Wavemaker Indonesia is Amir Suherlan, a seasoned media professional with over 20 years of experience in the advertising and media industry and a passionate business leader with a strong network within the media and marketing ecosystem. He has worked on a wide variety of local and multinational clients from FMCG’s to Telco, E-commerce, and Fintech; incl Unilever, Nestle, XL Axiata, Shopee, Booking.com, Sampoerna Philip Morris, Konimex, Bank Danamon. Prior to his new role, he was a Managing Director at Mindshare Enterprise.

Commenting on his new role, Amir said “I am truly excited to join Wavemaker Indonesia, to lead and collaborate with a bunch of bright talents. I am impressed with the agency’s transformation to a leading agency today – leveraging on the best use of media, content, and technology to deliver future proof solutions to client business challenges. My goal is to bring the agency to the next level within the rapid changes in the media ecosystem and consumers behaviour.”