OMG names regional digital chief

Omnicom Media Group (OMG) has appointed Bharat Khatri as APAC chief digital officer.

He was previously country head for WPP's Xaxis in India, where he oversaw programmatic capabilities and collaborated with more than 150 active advertisers across multiple industries. He spent seven years with Xaxis, where his priot roles included director of client development and group head of client engagement. Prior to Xaxis he spent time with Exponential and Wipro Technologies.

OMG last had a regional chief digital officer (CDO) in 2019, when it moved Rochelle Chhaya, who was named APAC CDO in 2018, to the role of APAC COO of OMG's agency OMD. A spokesperson told Campaign Asia-Pacific this morning that OMG chose to take its time finding the right person to fill the CDO position, because it wanted someone with the right level of expertise in analytics, programmatic and other aspects of digital marketing.

In his new role, Khatri will partner with OMG leaders in APAC to accelerate the adoption of integrated digital strategy, with a focus on leveraging technology to drive efficiency and creativity at scale across digital channels, according to the company.

He will continue to be based in India (Gurgaon) and reports to Paul Shepherd, chief investment officer for OMG APAC.

“Bharat has a stellar track record in the world of digital and possesses a unique ability in converting digital complexities into solutions,” Shepherd said in a release. “With digital disruption only increasing and the world of identity getting more complex, Bharat’s experience in driving actionable and measurable solutions will be a key asset in unlocking advantages for our clients.”

Khatri said he's honoured to join OMG at a "pivotal time while our industry goes through a massive shift to more fragmented, privacy-first and precision-second ecosystem", and praised the company's "strong roots in analytics and big appetite for innovation" as key assets.