Ajay Mehta exits WPP Media after decade-long run

Ajay Mehta has moved on from his role as Head - Content & Creative Services at WPP Media, marking the end of an 11+ year tenure, e4m has learnt. Mehta also served as Chief Content Officer at Mindshare India.

Mehta has been widely recognized for pioneering the branded content vertical at Mindshare and GroupM, a transformation that turned content partnerships into one of the network’s most consistent strategic differentiators. Under his leadership, the vertical evolved into a high-impact solution that connected brands with platforms, publishers, creators and entertainment formats to drive measurable cultural relevance and commercial results.

Across two decades in marketing communications and strategy, Mehta has worked with some of the most influential agencies in the industry including Mindshare, Ogilvy and Publicis India, developing large-scale content solutions for clients across FMCG, Telecom, Retail, Finance, Auto and Technology. At Mindshare, he spent nearly nine years in leadership roles including Senior Vice President and Vice President, heading content strategy & partnerships for HUL brand among several others, which is one of India’s most aggressive content-led marketing spenders.

During his stint at GroupM/WPP Media, Mehta’s work and leadership earned multiple recognitions at a domestic and international level. A highlight among these was the Cannes Glass Lions Grand Prix - a prestigious win that placed India’s media-driven creative storytelling on the global innovation map. His contributions were consistently spotlighted by leading platforms including Campaign Asia, Exchange4Media, Impact and Economic Times' Brand Equity for creative leadership and original thinking.

Mehta’s most recent role saw him leading the branded content and creative services unit at WPP Media since August 2024, while simultaneously driving content leadership as Chief Content Officer at Mindshare since June 2023.

His exit comes at a pivotal juncture for the media ecosystem, where agencies are increasingly being measured on content capability, cross-platform agility and executional efficiency rather than traditional media weightage. With WPP Media now recalibrating leadership responsibilities internally, Mehta leaves behind a deep strategic footprint and an operational framework that institutionalized content as a core lever within the GroupM network.