GroupM restructures across Asia, Indonesia leadership impacted

Following news of GroupM’s move to a single operating model, Campaign Asia-Pacific has learned that layoffs are underway in several Asian markets, with Indonesia's leadership groups among the hardest hit. The restructuring, driven by WPP global CEO Brian Lesser, aims to streamline operations by consolidating agency brands such as Mindshare, Wavemaker, and EssenceMediacom under a unified structure.

In Indonesia, one of GroupM’s largest and most critical Southeast Asian markets, a number of leadership roles have been eliminated, including managing directors, heads of growth, and senior investment leads across agency brands such as Mindshare, EssenceMediacom and GroupM Nexus. Although Campaign is not disclosing individual names, these cuts reflect a deep loss of top-tier talent across the agencies in a market where GroupM is a dominant media player. According to sources, many of those impacted had years of experience and were important to the agency’s success in the region.

The leadership gap in the key Southeast Asian market is further widened by the departure of Himanshu Shekhar, GroupM’s Southeast Asia CEO, who left the company earlier in January after 25 years. No replacement was announced for his exit.

The restructuring is part of WPP’s broader strategy to consolidate operations under a single P&L framework. A central pillar of this plan is the creation of a new division, Media Management and Delivery (MMD), which will unify GroupM Nexus (activation) and investment teams to eliminate duplicate roles and streamline client services.

As reported by Campaign earlier, global chief exectuive Brian Lesser sent an internal memo to staff to outline the vision for a "stronger, more connected company" with dedicated client teams housed within agencies but no independent P&Ls. The memo has been adapted across markets and offices with local context and an emphasis on the need for simplicity, stating: “We know that we have to be simpler, and there is more work to do.”

Industry sources close to the matter estimate that the restructuring across Asia-Pacific will result in a reduction of approximately 7-8% of staff costs. However, the impact will vary by market. Campaign understands:

• India: Having already transitioned to a similar (read leaner) structure in the past two years, is expected to see cuts primarily at junior to mid-level roles.
• Australia: Due to strong leadership and stable teams, it is expected to be less affected than other markets.
• China, Thailand, and the Philippines: Expected to face restructuring in both junior and senior roles in the coming weeks.

In Hong Kong, rolling cuts over the past 18 months have already resulted in the departure of senior leaders, including former GroupM Hong Kong chief executive Alice Chow and Mindshare Hong Kong managing director Irene Tsui, who exited in May 2024. Carlton Kwan, chief financial officer, and Gilles Detanger, chief commercial officer for EssenceMediacom APAC, also left during this period.

With no immediate replacements for these roles, GroupM Northeast Asia CEO Michael Beecroft oversees the Hong Kong operations in addition to his existing responsibilities. Earlier this year, in January, GroupM Hong Kong promoted Scotty Ho and Johnny Ng to vice president roles for strategy and growth in an effort to stabilise the market. 

Although WPP has assured employees and clients that affected staff will be supported, sources close to the matter have criticised the process for being overly transactional. Insiders close to the matter describe the restructuring as lacking empathy, particularly for long-serving employees who have contributed significantly to GroupM’s success.

One source told Campaign: “What they’re offering employees for their exits is very transactional, even for people who have been stars in the business for 15 or 20 years.”

When contacted by Campaign, a GroupM spokesperson would neither confirm or deny individual layoffs, nor comment on the levels of redundancies in each market. Campaign can report that WPP is said to be offering affected employees access to comprehensive support programmes, including extended access to its Employee Assistance Program.