GroupM has tasked chief digital officer Amna Khatib to take on the additional role of interim managing director for Wavemaker.
“Amna’s unrivaled understanding of digital space and innovation in Pakistan, her many years of GroupM experience, and someone who fully understands our devotion on diversity and inclusion will make her a great source of continuity and progress for Wavemeker,” said Naveed Asghar, the CEO of GroupM Pakistan.
The appointment comes just a year since GroupM hired CPG brand marketer Ali Khan-Bajauri in the same role, amid the departure of the former managing director, Sarwar Khan, who went on to launch the BPN-affiliated IG Square.
The new appointment also comes as GroupM is in the middle of a $20 million media review with Nestle Pakistan, with both Starcom-affiliate Brainchild Communications Pakistan and BPN-affiliate IG Square among the shortlisted media agencies competing for the account.
In a memo sent earlier this month, Asghar stated that Ali Khan-Bajauri will be moving to a new role that supports the business transformation and growth agenda of GroupM, guiding both GroupM and Wavameker through the transformation process required amid COVID-19.
He said that when Ali Khan-Bajauri joined the company last year as the managing director of Wavemaker, he helped steer Maxus during a very critical recovering phase, given the sequential loss of business to IG Square, a media agency co-founded by Sarwar Khan, the former managing director of Maxus in Pakistan.
In the memo, Asghar credits Ali Khan-Bajauri with helping launch Wavemaker in Pakistan, which touts itself as an audience first and digital focused media investment company.
“Ali has been instrumental in hiring, training, and retaining some of the best talent in Wavemaker – a team that’s driven, charged up, and dependable,” said Asghar. “He has also re-built our relationship with the existing set of clients, while actively pursuing new opportunities.”
