Gustavo Martinez, CEO of J. Walter Thompson Company, on why the recent leadership change was made, and how, with the new approach, revenues can increase by 30-40% in India
By Priyanka Mehra
When we met Colvyn Harris, then CEO, JWT South Asia, in October last year, the agency was riding on the high of wins at Cannes Lion but was also amidst several senior level exits and leadership changes across the agency’s key offices in the region. Come 2015, and the agency has created a stir in India with its recent appointment of Worldwide Media CEO, Tarun Rai, a former JWT executive, as South Asia CEO, replacing Harris who moves to a global role.
An aggressive acquisition plan, introduction of new units within J Walter Thompson, are some of the elements of JWT Worldwide CEO Gustavo Martinez’s game-plan towards making the company rank among the top three global networks worldwide. “It is important for us, every year, that we wake up and re-invent ourselves. As top management, we are going to capitalize on what we have in terms of talent and leadership. The client is looking for leadership and experience. We have earned this kind of capability and credentials in the market, but we need to update our capabilities and our talent, through acquisition and hiring people and provide these to the key markets and clients,” comments Martinez.
The agency aims to have a 50:50 distribution between organic and inorganic growth. In order to achieve this agenda in 2020, the top management has specifically determined and defined the organic and inorganic targets. The agency plans to achieve the non-organic targets through acquisitions and new business, and organic targets by optimizing the agency’s capabilities on the existing client portfolio.
In India, JWT sharpened its digital arsenal by acquiring Social Wavelength last year and Hungama Digital in 2012. India is a relevant market for the network, confirms Martinez. “We will always have space and funds for particular acquisitions. India is one of the key markets; so if Colvyn or Tarun bring us specific companies, which align with our growth strategy, we are going to have time and money to make acquisitions in India. India is our top priority,” he says.
Martinez indicates that there may not be an immediate acquisition on the cards for the Indian market as the agency now has wide-ranging services, but an acquisition globally is a strong possibility and might be around the corner. “We are different from other networks; we are not making acquisitions just because of the volume. Now we don’t need volume. We could need capabilities, different talent or we might want to try to fill a space that we are not in. These are going to be the three important criteria for an acquisition in India,” he points out.
Seamless transition?
Martinez himself is one of the rare individuals who can say he has had a seamless transition as he was in a way being readied to take on his role as worldwide CEO. He joined as Global President in November 2013 and was then mentored by Bob Jeffery who is now Non-Executive Chairman of the board. Martinez spent last year visiting almost 200 offices around the world in 96 countries and getting familiar with 12,000 employees. He has come to India four times within the past year. On a similar seamless transition between Rai and Harris, he says, “I came from a different network. The advantage we have here is that Colvyn stays in the company. He is going to be helping Tarun and me in this task and Tarun is a former JWT man and he clearly knows the market. Thirdly, he has been working in this market from the media side, so he has connections with clients. I think this transition is going to be seamless, efficient and fly extremely well. That’s why it took some time for Colvyn and me to make this work and that’s why I am here with Colvyn and Tarun to make this change.”
Hunting in 2014 & harvest in 2015?
Martinez, who is clearly bullish on India, believes the right boost will yield good results in the Indian market. He is also crystal clear about his agenda on India, given the fact that the agency didn’t see any significant infusion of business wins in India in 2014. “I am very ambitious in India. My agenda is a growth agenda. We have defined it with Colvyn and other top managers of the company… what we call our 2020 plan. In this agenda, we define different sectors where we are going to focus, such as retail, luxury and finance, wherein we may have a smaller presence in comparison to other sectors. After this, we will define our targets. We have already started the hunting plan. Even though 2014 was not fantastic for infusion of new business, it was the beginning of the hunt. 2015 is going to be, I hope, the year of harvest,” he says passionately.
“With a company like JWT in India where we have so many clients, where our portfolio is so extensive, clearly we have organic and inorganic targets. With an already extensive portfolio, imagine if we try to further it with our new approach; we are aiming to increase our revenue by 30-40%,” he elaborates on the agency’s targets. Will customization that we saw in the case of Pepsi (Power of One) and existing one for Ford see the introduction of more personalized divisions for clients in 2015? “That is a demand of the market and we are also part of a bigger group called WPP. We have a strategy of horizontality where we have this team WPP. Definitely JWT is going to play a strong role in this horizontality team,” he says. However, the question is whether the new leadership will turn 2015 into a year of harvest for JWT India.
Feedback: priyanka.mehra@exchange4media.com
