ITV

Category: People

  • L&K Saatchi & Saatchi bags creative mandate of Akasa Air

    L&K Saatchi & Saatchi bags creative mandate of Akasa Air

    Mumbai:  L&K Saatchi & Saatchi has won the creative mandate of India’s newest airline brand, Akasa Air. As its creative partner, the agency will manage strategic and creative initiatives for the airline, which include developing brand and tactical communication for above-the-line and below-the-line elements. It will also develop brand communication campaigns and creatives for launch and sustenance phases and be involved in designing brand identity applications across mediums.

    The account will be managed by the Mumbai office of the agency.

    Commenting on the association, Akasa Air co-founder and chief marketing & experience officer Belson Coutinho said, “We are on a journey to build India’s most dependable and affordable airline that delivers warm, reliable, and efficient service. Hence, it is inevitable to have a communication strategy that complements both the brand promise and our actual delivery on the ground. We want our brand communication to be authentic, drive creativity and innovation, and at the same time reflect our core value of empathy.”

    “We found L&K Saatchi & Saatchi an ideal partner to help us on our journey with their creative, collaborative, and insights-led approach, and we are pleased to have them on board as our Agency on Record,” he added.

    Sharing his views on how Akasa Air would power India’s growth engine, L&K Saatchi & Saatchi CEO Paritosh Srivastava said, “It’s literally a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to launch an airline; it doesn’t get bigger than this. The experience of being a part of the core team at Akasa and going through the journey of the launch of something as massive and transformational for our country and people is truly humbling. Aviation is a tough business, and everyone involved has to bring their best game to the table. We will try everything in our power to contribute to Akasa’s success in the time to come. We believe we are not an agency for Akasa; we feel a sense of ownership, and treat this as our own business.”

  • Dentsu Creative India names Sumeer Mathur as chief strategy officer

    Dentsu Creative India names Sumeer Mathur as chief strategy officer

    Mumbai: Dentsu Creative India has bolstered the strength of its strategy team with the appointment of Sumeer Mathur as chief strategy officer. Mathur will report to Dentsu Creative India chief executive officer Amit Wadhwa.

    Mathur’s mandate will be to build upon Dentsu Creative’s strategic capabilities in order to further enhance its work and market-leading creative reputation. His responsibilities will include brand management, digital, and PR. In addition to this, he will work closely with Dentsu Creative India Group chief creative officer, Ajay Gahlaut, and the business teams to ensure the highest quality of output from the agency.

    Mathur has over 20 years of expertise and is a firm believer in communication that creates business and brand impact. He has previously held national, regional and global strategic responsibilities for many brands, which include Colgate-Palmolive, Clinic Plus, Clinic All Clear, Fair & Lovely, Airtel, Horlicks, Royal Enfield, Livon, Taj Hotels, UNICEF, Adidas, LG, Microsoft, Bira, and Muscle Blaze, to name a few.

    He has worked with agencies like Rediffusion, DYA&R, Lowe Lintas, JWT, DDB Mudra, and Edelman. Prior to this, he was the national strategy head at Havas Creative. Additionally, Mathur has played a significant role in creating work that has won numerous effectiveness awards for brands like HUL, Airtel Money, Microsoft PCs, Livon, UNICEF, CHAI, etc. He has also served on the Effie India Jury for many years.

    Amit Wadhwa said, “Sumeer’s appointment takes us a step further toward our vision for Dentsu Creative in India to lead the way in Modern Creativity. He not only brings in knowledge and credibility from some of the best agencies but also has vast experience across brands, digital and PR, which indeed makes him the perfect fit. I, along with the entire leadership team, am looking forward to working closely with him and reaching new milestones in the future.”

    Speaking of his new role, Mathur added, “Frankly, it’s a privilege to join the team at Dentsu. There isn’t a communication agency in the country right now that combines tech, culture, craft, and ideas the way Dentsu does. They are ahead of the curve and have their feet firmly planted in the future, in order to deliver value to clients.” 

    Dentsu Creative India was recently declared the ‘Agency of The Year’ at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity 2022-a first-ever for India. It was a historic hat-trick with the agency also lifting a Titanium for the country for its ‘Unfiltered History Tour (UHT)’ campaign in addition to bagging three Grand Prix-another first, two Gold Lions and three Silver Lions-making UHT the most awarded work not only from India but globally.

  • Bajaj Electricals elevates Anuj Poddar to the role of managing director and CEO

    Bajaj Electricals elevates Anuj Poddar to the role of managing director and CEO

    Mumbai: Homegrown consumer durables company Bajaj Electricals announced on Tuesday the elevation of Anuj Poddar to the roles of managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO). Shekhar Bajaj will continue as executive chairman of the company.

    Anuj Poddar joined the company in late 2018 as its executive director.

    This announcement comes on the back of the ongoing and significant transformation journey and keeps in mind the company’s long-term strategy. The separation of the chairman and managing director positions is a continuation of the professionalisation of the management of the company and marks the company’s commitment to strong corporate governance standards, said the company in a statement.

    Bajaj Electricals chairman Shekhar Bajaj said, “Over the last few years, we have embarked upon a significant transformation journey at Bajaj Electricals – involving many changes on the business as well as organisational front. In continuation of that, I believe this will provide further impetus to the achievement of our strategic goals and demonstrate our commitment to strong corporate governance. Anuj Poddar has demonstrated exceptionally visionary leadership, executional ability, and passion in driving this transformation journey, and I am confident that in his elevated role he will continue to drive our company forward and add value to all stakeholders.”

    Anuj Poddar said, “I am thankful to the chairman and our board for entrusting me with this elevated responsibility. I am truly excited about what lies ahead of us at Bajaj Electricals – we have a clear vision and roadmap for building this future, and together with our entire team, we are committed to being a best-in-class organisation that delivers superior performance and value creation.”

    Over the last three years, Bajaj Electricals has undertaken multiple initiatives, including strengthening of the leadership, streamlining of its corporate structure, a turnaround of its performance and balance sheet, and the planned demerger of the EPC business.

    Further, the company achieved a key strategic milestone of becoming net-debt-free on 31 March 2022 – a first for the company in over four decades. Having achieved these milestones, Bajaj Electricals is preparing for aggressive growth across its businesses in a focused manner.

    The company posted its Q1 FY 22-23 results. For the first quarter of 2022-23, the company achieved revenue from operations of Rs 1,229 crore as against Rs 857 crore, a growth of 43 per cent over the first quarter of the previous year. For the quarter, the company made profit before tax and profit after tax of Rs 57 crore and Rs 41 crore, respectively, as against a loss before tax and loss after tax of Rs 31 crore and Rs 25 crore, respectively, in the corresponding first quarter of the previous year. For the quarter ended 30 June 2022, the company generated positive cash flow from operations of Rs 165 crore in cash equivalents and surplus investments of Rs 254 crore.

  • Dabur’s Amit Burman steps down as chairman, to continue as a non-executive director

    Dabur’s Amit Burman steps down as chairman, to continue as a non-executive director

    MUMBAI: Amit Burman has resigned as the chairman of FMCG major Dabur India. Burman shall continue to be the non-executive director of the company, Dabur India announced in a regulatory filing. The company has accepted the resignation of Amit Burman from the post of chairman of the board of directors with effect from 10 August 2022.

    The board has also affirmed the appointment of Mohit Burman, who is currently the non-executive vice chairman, as the non-executive chairman of the board for five years with effect from 11 August. 

    Apart from this, Saket Burman has been appointed as the non-executive vice-Chairman of the board of directors for five years.

    Burman started his career at Dabur’s Industrial Engineering Department where he was responsible for the induction of machinery, method improvements, manpower reduction and improving product packaging. He took on the responsibilities as the CEO of Dabur Foods in 1999 and forayed into the processed foods business with a range of ethnic cooking pastes & chutneys and packaged fruit juices.

    Burman stepped down as the CEO of Dabur Foods when the company was merged into Dabur India in July 2007. He was then appointed the vice chairman of Dabur India. He took charge as the chairman of Dabur India in 2019. He is credited for Dabur India’s foray into the processed foods business with the setting up of Dabur Foods Ltd. He is also responsible for driving all business strategy, development and communications at Dabur Foods.

    An alumnus of the University of Cambridge, he also holds M.Sc degree in Industrial Engineering from Columbia University, USA and a B.Sc. degree in Industrial Engineering from Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, USA.

  • Home Credit India announces leadership appointment; Ashish Tiwari named chief marketing officer

    Home Credit India announces leadership appointment; Ashish Tiwari named chief marketing officer

    Mumbai: Home Credit India has announced the appointment of Ashish Tiwari as its chief marketing officer (CMO). This decision was made with the continued focus on omnichannel marketing, led by a digital-first approach.

    Ashish brings over two decades of rich experience across various sectors, He has been practising brand marketing, digital transformation, technology and data analytics.

    Prior to this, he was the chief marketing and digital officer of Generali India, where he was in charge of the company’s brand engagement, PR, and digital.

    As a brand communication and product/consumer marketing specialist, Ashish’s diverse industry experience includes stints with Hero Cycles where he led digital transformation across the Hero Group.

    With a specialisation in digital and social media from IIM Bangalore, Ashish has worked with some prominent brands, including HCL, Jubilant Group, and Vodafone.

    Welcoming Ashish, Home Credit India chief executive officer Ondrej Kubik said, “We are delighted to have a dynamic leader like Ashish joining Home Credit India. With business objectives and consumer marketing being redrawn, Ashish, having successfully led digital transformation projects, with rich marketing and diverse industry experience, makes him the right choice for fulfilling Home Credit India’s new approach. I welcome him again and with him onboard, I am sure we will be able to redefine the Home Credit brand and connect with consumers in the endeavour to fulfil aspirations.”

    Speaking about his recent appointment with Home Credit India, Ashish said, “I am very excited to explore and experience yet another new and vibrant industry—consumer finance. In the post-Covid world, consumer lending is undergoing a lot of influx with new-age digital lending modes shaping up. Having served over 14 million borrowers, Home Credit India has been doing a remarkable job of enabling credit penetration and financial inclusion in the country. As Home Credit focuses on digital transformation and explores new ways to connect the brand with new evolving consumers, I am honoured to join its journey and look forward to contributing to its renewed growth and success.”

  • Vineet Nair rejoins Amazon India as head of media

    Vineet Nair rejoins Amazon India as head of media

    Mumbai: Amazon on Monday announced the appointment of Vineet Nair as head of media. Prior to this, he was associated with The Purple Family at Mindshare GroupM for nearly two years. He brings with him an experience of 15 years in handling traditional and digital media, brand development, media planning, buying, and strategy.

    This is Nair’s second stint at Amazon. He was a senior media manager at Amazon India for nearly two years before joining Mindshare.

    Nair shared this latest career update via a LinkedIn post. He wrote: “Excited to share that I have joined Amazon India as Media Head. It’s been a week now and everyone has been so welcoming. As I return to this organization, I am looking forward to continue working with an amazing set of people and #workhardhavefunmakehistory again!

    This news is also bittersweet as it meant leaving the Purple Family at Mindshare GroupM . Of my 15 years of experience, the majority of them have been spent at Mindshare where I have learnt and grown as a professional every single day with new challenges. Expressing his thanks to his ex co-workers, he added, “It’s what has led me to this point in my career, I am thankful for this organization and its people. Thank you Amin Lakhani, Harsh Deep Chhabra, for guiding and entrusting me with roles that challenged me and made me the leader that I am today. I am also grateful to all my team members who did outstanding work and had fun while doing it. I wish everyone the best, always!”

    Embed Link: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/vineetnair30_workhardhavefunmakehistory-amazon-mindshare-activity-6961949491025387520-0aFr?utm_source=linkedin_share&utm_medium=member_desktop_web

    He is an accomplished integrated media executive with over fifteen years of experience in the FMCG and e-commerce industries. He boasts a commendable track record as a thought leader, driving scalable growth for businesses through metrics-driven solutions, strong business acumen, adaptive strategic thinking, and deep market understanding.

  • Ogilvy India elevates Ganapathy Balagopalan as deputy chief strategy officer

    Ogilvy India elevates Ganapathy Balagopalan as deputy chief strategy officer

    MUMBAI:  Ogilvy India has announced the elevation of Ganapathy Balagopalan as deputy chief strategy officer, Ogilvy India. In his new role as deputy CSO, Balagopalan will partner with some of Ogilvy India’s key clients. He will drive two key agendas at a national level.  He will be the national effectiveness leader and will help teams across markets on this front. He will also champion the digital strategy aspect of brands in Ogilvy India and partner account management and creative leaders to drive the digital excellence agenda.

    While he takes on a national role, Balagopalan will continue to be the planning head for Mumbai & Kolkata, something he has nurtured and built over the last five years, the agency said. He has been with Ogilvy for over 20 years and has been an integral part of nurturing and building the Ogilvy planning function.

    On the new appointment, Ogilvy India chief strategy officer Prem Narayan said: “Ask Ganapathy’ is a catch phrase in Ogilvy, if there is anything you need to know about Cadbury/Mondelez. Guns has been the account planning custodian for some of Ogilvy India’s dearest brands – Cadbury/Mondelez, Pidilite, Bajaj and ITC. There has been a Ganapathy touch to many great campaigns on these brands over the years.”

    Balagopalan is also credited with authoring the case that won India’s only IPA, for Cadbury Dairy Milk.  

     Ogilvy India group president VR Rajesh said: “There is no one better to partner Prem in the national role than Ganpathy. After building a robust planning structure for the Mumbai office and being responsible for some iconic work across our key clients, Guns will now drive the new-age transformation agenda for Ogilvy planning.”

    Ganapathy Balagopalan said about his new role: “At Ogilvy, we have insanely talented people with diverse skills, utterly devoted to creating world-class work that helps our clients succeed in a VUCA world. I look forward to partnering with all my colleagues to ensure Ogilvy continues to lead the way.”

  • Dentsu’s Abhinav Kaushik joins FCB India as president

    Dentsu’s Abhinav Kaushik joins FCB India as president

    Mumbai: Taproot Dentsu’s former executive vice president & head of office – Delhi & Mumbai, Abhinav Kaushik has joined FCB India as president. Kaushik made the announcement on LinkedIn. Earlier last week he shared the news of his stepping down from his role at Dentsu and moving on, even as he kept everyone guessing as to his next move.

    Kaushik joined Dentsu Marcom in 2013 as vice president in account management. In his nine years at the agency, he handled a gamut of leadership roles at Dentsu, working on many successful brand initiatives and multi-stage integrated campaigns across the funnel for brands like Honda (Honda Cars & Honda Two Wheelers), Dulux, Airtel, Microsoft, Shell, Oppo, Canon, Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail, Nokia, CP Plus, Fast&Up, Jack & Jones, Dainik Bhaskar, and Toshiba.

    https://www.linkedin.com/posts/abhinavkaushik05_im-happy-to-share-that-im-starting-a-new-activity-6959793079805489154-dyH-?utm_source=linkedin_share&utm_medium=member_desktop_web

    While moving on, Abhinav expressed his gratitude on his social media account. He wrote, “My nine years at Dentsu International India & Taproot Dentsu (A dentsuMB Company) have truly been a rollercoaster ride. What has made this ride special is the stellar team of some immensely talented people who have helped me learn every single day. As they say, great things are never done by one person, they are done by a team of people. So gratitude to all my team members, colleagues & partners. I will treasure the experience and the memories of working with you and I’m sure we will work together in the future. Over to the next chapter now. There is no finishing line”

    Prior to joining Dentsu, he was vice president and client services director at J. Walter Thompson for over six years, where he worked extensively with brands such as Airtel and Sony. Microsoft, GSK, and Pizza Hut. Abhinav began his career at GE Capital before moving on to work for agencies such as Contract Advertising and M&C Saatchi London.

    Previously, he has worked with agencies such as Contract and M&C Saatchi. He started his career in sales and marketing at GE Capital, working on the branding, integrated marketing, planning, strategising, and repositioning exercises for brands such as Airtel, Sony (Bravia, Vaio, Cybershot, Walkman, Handycam), GSK (Boost portfolio), Pizza Hut, Dabur (Real Juices’ portfolio), NIIT, Microsoft, British Airways, Shell, Indian School of Business, Revlon, Godfrey Phillips, and Asian Paints.

  • Abhinav Kaushik moves on from dentsu after 9 years

    Abhinav Kaushik moves on from dentsu after 9 years

    MUMBAI: Taproot Dentsu’s executive vice president & head of office – Delhi & Mumbai, Abhinav Kaushik has stepped down from his role at the agency. Having joined Dentsu Marcom in 2013 as vice president in account management, he was just one year short of completing a decade.

    In his nine years at the agency, Kaushik handled a gamut of leadership roles at Dentsu, working on many successful brand initiatives and multi-stage integrated campaigns across the funnel for brands like Honda (Honda Cars & Honda Two Wheelers), Dulux, Airtel, Microsoft, Shell, Oppo, Canon, Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail, Nokia, CP Plus, Fast&Up, Jack & Jones, Dainik Bhaskar, and Toshiba.

    Sharing the news on his LinkedIn page, Kaushik wrote: “My 9 years at dentsu international india & Taproot Dentsu (A dentsuMB Company) have truly been a rollercoaster ride. What has made this ride special is the stellar team of some immensely talented people who have helped me learn every single day.”

    “As they say, great things are never done by one person, they are done by a team of people. So gratitude to all my team members, colleagues & partners,” he further wrote, adding, “Over to the next chapter now.”

    Kaushik did not disclose his future plans in the post, though.

    Prior to dentsu, Kaushik was vice president and client services director at JWT for over six years, where he worked on brands such as Airtel, Sony, GSK, Pizza Hut and Microsoft.

    Previously, he has worked with agencies such as Contract and M&C Saatchi. He started his career in sales and marketing at GE Capital, working on the branding, integrated marketing, planning, strategising and repositioning exercises for brands such as Airtel, Sony (Bravia, Vaio, Cybershot, Walkman, Handycam), GSK (Boost portfolio), Pizza Hut, Dabur (Real Juices’ portfolio), NIIT, Microsoft, British Airways, Shell, Indian School of Business, Revlon, Godfrey Phillips, and Asian Paints.

  • Roposo appoints BBH India as creative agency partner

    Roposo appoints BBH India as creative agency partner

    Mumbai: Roposo, a leading creator-led live entertainment commerce platform, has selected Publicis Groupe’s BBH India as its agency on record (AOR) following a multi-agency competitive pitch.

    The partnership comes at a time when Roposo is enhancing its consumer experiences and expanding its marketing efforts for live shopping and entertainment.

    As Roposo’s AOR, BBH India will now develop both consumer-focused and business-driven marketing campaigns. Together, Roposo and BBH will develop integrated creative and strategic communications that will break through into the burgeoning Indian live commerce category in a meaningful and unique way.

    Commenting on the partnership, Roposo vice president Abhinav Jain said, “We are glad to have BBH India on board as our brand agency partner, crafting impactful brand campaigns. We look forward to continuing to build Roposo as the leading digital destination for live entertainment and commerce, with them.”

    Commenting on the win, BBH India CCO & CEO Russell Barrett said, “It’s the age of the creator economy and Roposo is front and centre of this exploding category. There’s incredible potential for Roposo to play a role in pop culture at the intersection of content, lifestyle and commerce. We are excited to partner with the talented team at Glance to help the brand reach its full potential.”

    Roposo is the country’s first creator-led live entertainment commerce platform, owned by consumer internet company Glance, a subsidiary of InMobi. BBH India, armed with 14 years of legacy in India, is a creative powerhouse with a repertoire of highly effective, consistent, and modern marketing solutions.