Amrita Randhawa to lead Mindshare China as new president

Randhawa fills the vacancy left by of Melvyn Goh, who resigned in June and stayed with the agency until September. During that interim, Lin, as vice-president, and Karl Cluck, as chief strategy officer, worked as co-presidents to oversee the management of Mindshare China.

A 15-year Mindshare China veteran, Lin will now take the post of chief operating officer, reporting to Randhawa. Cluck will become the chief strategy officer for Mindshare, North Asia. All three appointments are effective 1 January 2013.

Based in Shanghai, Randhawa will lead the agency’s China operations across Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou. She will report jointly to Bessie Lee, GroupM China CEO in Shanghai, and Ashutosh Srivastava, Mindshare's CEO of global emerging markets and chairman for Asia Pacific, who is based in Singapore.

Randhawa has been with Mindshare for eight years and with the regional team for more than three-and-a-half years. She has overseen regional and global clients including Nestlé, PepsiCo, Yum! and L’Oréal on both a Mindshare and WPP level.

No stranger to China market, she was previously partner client leader, where she managed Nestlé’s Greater China business for over three years. Her work for Nescafe Camera Café won multiple awards, and she won a global Purple Head for client leadership for the work she did on Nestle in China. She has also received recognition at the WPP Atticus Awards.

“We’ve been lucky to have someone of Amrita’s caliber as a trusted advisor to key Mindshare clients across Asia Pacific, and she’s the right person to drive the agency forward in one of our most critical markets,” Srivastava said.

Added Lee, “Amrita is one of the brightest and most effective managers in our network. Her strategic thinking along with her tenacity and experience in the China market will give Mindshare and its clients an unparalleled advantage."

As the number two person in Mindshare China, Lin will focus on streamlining the agency’s operations, managing key commercial functions and handling key international and domestic accounts.

Cluck's remit will expand to include Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong in addition to his current responsibilities in China. He will report to Deepika Nikhilender, leader for business planning, Mindshare Asia Pacific, and will continue to be based in Shanghai.