UM Australia appoints former Wavemaker CSO Raj Gupta to the role of chief strategy officer

After a detailed national and international search, UM Australia has appointed Raj Gupta as national chief strategy officer. He will join UM’s senior leadership team and report to CEO Fiona Johnston.

Gupta will be leading a team of great media talent following years of international experience and he brings a unique level of human, data and design thinking to UM.

Says Johnston: “At this time of change at pace in our communications world, it is vital we offer clients as much counsel and perspective as we can on their businesses and media investments.”

Gupta comes from a strong legacy of strategic foundations having led Wavemaker and MEC’s strategy in APAC for the past 10 years. He also has a firm place in digital and data, having led transformation projects for client digital and data acceleration initiatives with Citibank, Chanel and Colgate-Palmolive.

Says Gupta: “Too much of our professional world has become reactive, or even schizophrenic, and so we need to respond at pace but also protect solid brand and business ideas if they are to resonate beyond constant noise. Certainly UM is widely respected for its strategy-driven performance and I am looking forward to the new role.”