#e4mBreaking:  CVL Srinivas to retire as Country Manager, WPP India in March 2026 after a glorious stint 

CVL Srinivas, Country Manager of WPP India, and one of the most influential leaders in the Indian advertising and media sector, will be retiring on March 31, 2026.

Srini is  widely respected and admired for his leadership of the WPP group of companies in India, will be stepping down from his group role, which he assumed in October 2017.

CVL Srinivas, fondly called as Srini by folks in the industry, has been with the Advertising & Media industry for 36 years. 

Srini joined WPP in January 2013 as CEO-South Asia of GroupM (now WPP Media). In October 2017, he was appointed as Country Manager to succeed Ranjan Kapur. Between October 2017 and late 2018, he concurrently managed both roles before transitioning to focus exclusively on leading WPP India as Country Manager.

WPP Group has been planning the transition for over 15 months. Srinivas had conveyed to the WPP leadership his intention to retire upon turning 60 on March 14, 2026, fulfilling a personal commitment to step away from a full-time role at that age. As a trivia Srini shares his birthday with Einstein. 

The successor to CVL Srinivas will be named in the next few weeks.

Srini's leadership has been unmatched in the industry. He is known for his integrity and for his mentorship. WPP India has grown under his leadership, maintaining its lead in the Indian advertising industry by miles. Under Srini, a GCC for the WPP Group, has also been established in India.

Apart from being the Country Manager - WPP India since 2017 and a member of the Global Operating Board, he has held senior management positions, including that of CEO - South Asia at GroupM, as Chairman Starcom MediaVest India, CEO Asia Pacific at Maxus (GroupM) and COO at Madison Media. Srini was also part of the start-up team at HTA that launched Fulcrum- India’s first media AOR for HUL in 1995.

He has played an active role in various industry bodies during his distinguished career - from being on the board of BARC, ABC, MRUC, IAA, Chairman at RSCI, and as a founding member and Co-chairman of MMA India.

Srini has been at the forefront of driving growth and innovation across the industry, establishing best practices for the media industry, helping Madison expand their footprint with a series of blue chip client wins, launching Maxus for GroupM in India and Asia-Pacific and leading it to become one of the top agencies in a very short span of time. 

More recently at GroupM, he helped drive a transformation agenda to put data and digital at the core of the organisation, to make the organisation future-ready. 

At WPP, Srini led the transformation of the business in India, leveraging technology, creativity and building a collaborative culture across a large organisation to make India WPP’s driver of growth and innovation, and now among its top four markets.

Srini is respected, admired and very valued in the industry as he is seen to have grown WPP's business and leadership in India.

Srini was also awarded the e4m Media Aces Lifetime Achievement award at the e4m media aces on 11th November 2025 in Mumbai and got a standing ovation from the 300 plus strong leaders assembled in the industry .

Srini's biggest legacy is that he is admired and liked by the leaders at WPP for his humility , integrity and the fact that he has nurtured other leaders.

Srini's well planned transition has been in the works for 15 plus months and a new successor will be named soon.

Srini is likely to do things that he enjoys doing and is not likely to take a formal executive role anywhere.

Srini's next move is eagerly anticipated by the industry.

Srini's clients and internal leaders are going to miss his compassion, leadership and simplicity. 

As Albert Einstein famously said " the only source of knowledge is experience."

Srini's experience and standing in the industry will augur well for whatever Srini decides to do. 

Srini graduated from XLRI in 1993 and was the President of his Marketing Club called Maxi.

Srini started his career at Lintas Bangalore in 1993 before moving to JWT in 1994. He has completed 36 years in the industry. 

Before the career in advertising, Srini had previously worked with the TVS group for a couple of years after his engineering and before his MBA at XLRI Jamshedpur. 

Taking a closer look at Srini’s journey so far, he began his career at J. Walter Thompson Worldwide where he was appointed as Media Lead Foods & Personal Care HTA Fulcrum (Unilever business). He worked with J. Walter Thompson Worldwide from 1994 to 1998, honing his strategic and leadership skills in brand and media planning.

In 1998, he moved to Madison World as COO, a role he held for five years. This period helped expand his understanding of India’s fast-evolving media and marketing ecosystem.

From 2003 to 2006, Srinivas served as CEO for Asia Pacific at Maxus, guiding the network through growth across regional markets. He later joined Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd. (The Times Group) as Director, Private Treaties, between 2008 and 2010, working at the intersection of investment, media and partnerships.

His next leadership role came in 2011 as Chairman, India at Starcom Mediavest Group, where he oversaw the agency’s transformation for two years. In January 2013, he was appointed CEO South Asia at GroupM, driving performance across markets for over five years.

Srinivas was appointed Country Manager of WPP India in October 2017 and will continue to hold this group leadership role till March 2026.

Srini filled the big shoes of Ranjan Kapur and that too with aplomb. Ranjan Kapur was a Giant. 

Srini is a Gentle Giant and thanks to his leadership, WPP has nurtured a great lineup of Gentle Giants.  The only thing that has to be seen is whether Srini’s successor will be from inside or an external leader will take on his role.