Linda Sathaporn appointed CEO of GroupM Thailand

GroupM has handpicked Pathamawan (Linda) Sathaporn to become CEO of GroupM Thailand as of 1 May 2022. She assumes the portfolio held by Niklas Stalberg who will be leaving the network after a decade of service.

A home-grown talent within the GroupM network, Pathamawan crosses over from her current position as CEO of Mindshare Thailand where she held various leadership roles for over one and a half decades. In 2021, under Pathamawan’s leadership, Mindshare Thailand clinched two Golds including Campaign Asia’s Agency of the Year in both Media and Digital, and was also ranked the No. 1 media agency in Thailand.

Pathamawan will be reporting to Himanshu Shekhar, whose remit as CEO of GroupM Indonesia and Vietnam has been expanded to include Thailand. Shekhar takes charge of the new role as part of cluster strategy of South East Asia Market of Thailand,Vietnam and Indonesia. As cluster CEO of GroupM Thailand, Indonesia & Vietnam, Shekhar will report to Ashutosh Srivastava, CEO of GroupM Asia Pacific.

Having spent two decades within the GroupM network, Himanshu rose through the ranks in Mindshare managing the business in volume-heavy India as well as Indonesia. He was appointed CEO of Mindshare Southeast Asia from 2014 to 2018.

Himanshu Shekhar, CEO of GroupM Thailand, Indonesia & Vietnam, said, “The Group’s strategy to cluster Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam under one unified leadership will strengthen market capabilities and network agility. Given the breadth and depth of resources across these three important markets, we will be able to scale our capabilities and solutions to deliver enhanced value for all our clients and partners. I am thrilled to partner an illustrious leader like Pathamawan whose depth of field experience in Thailand will undoubtedly propel us into an even more glorious future.”

On her appointment, Sathaporn said, “I am honoured to embark on a journey that is both familiar and new – the purple blood running through my veins has now taken on a shade of blue. Growing alongside Mindshare the past 16 years, I feel privileged to have witnessed the dramatic evolution of the media landscape which sets us up for new adventures daily.”

“At GroupM, I look forward to building pathways for our talents to flourish in their careers, accelerate our capabilities to continue doing great work for our clients, and bring to life our company’s aspiration to make advertising work better for people in Thailand.”