Radhika Subberwal Sidhu has joined WPP Media as Senior Vice President, Strategy, effective November 2026, marking a return to the GroupM network. She announced the move on LinkedIn with a short note: “I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Senior Vice President at WPP Media!”
Most recently, Sidhu was Executive Vice President, Strategy at Starcom India, a role she held from August 2025 to November 2026. Before that, she spent over 16 years with IPG Mediabrands, working across Initiative Media and Lintas Media. Her client portfolio there included ITC, Air India, UC, Info Edge and RSPL.
From media executive to strategy lead
Sidhu’s route to the strategy seat is notable because it covers the full media value chain. She began her career at Starcom India in 2001 as a Media Executive, learning planning and buying. Between 2005 and 2009 she worked with GroupM’s Mindshare, moving from Senior Manager to Strategy Lead on brands such as United Breweries, Lifestyle, IBM and American Express.
That blend of buying, planning and strategy is the through-line of a career that now spans more than two decades. It is also what makes this appointment a useful signal for marketers watching agency talent closely.
Why the WPP Media move matters
This is a boomerang hire: Sidhu is returning to the GroupM fold after senior roles at Starcom and IPG Mediabrands. Boomerang hires often carry a built-in advantage — they know how the network works, understand its planning systems, and can move quickly in a new leadership role. For WPP Media, the appointment adds a strategy leader who has worked across competing holding companies.
The short Starcom stint — just over a year — makes the return to GroupM all the more notable, though neither WPP Media nor Sidhu has elaborated on the timing. For advertisers, the context is straightforward. In a media market where agencies pitch on business outcomes, the senior strategy bench is often the difference between a media plan and a growth plan. Sidhu’s client list — from Air India to IBM — suggests experience with high-stakes briefs where strategy has to connect brand, media and business results.
What to watch after this appointment
- Ask who actually leads strategy on your account, not just who manages it.
- Track whether senior hires come back with cross-network experience — it can speed up account impact.
- Use leadership changes as a moment to reset the brief and pressure-test the strategy agenda.
For media professionals, the move is also a careers case study. Sidhu left the GroupM network, built leadership credentials elsewhere, and returned at a higher level. Keeping alumni networks warm can, on this evidence, shorten the path back to a senior seat.
Source: MediaNews4U
