ITV

Category: People

  • Rashii Prabhakar joins Pixis as national agency lead

    Rashii Prabhakar joins Pixis as national agency lead

    Mumbai: Pixis, a California-based technology company that provides contextual codeless AI infrastructure for demand generation and marketing optimisation has announced the appointment of Rashii Prabhakar as national agency lead in India.

    In this role, she will spearhead tech adoption and partnerships between Pixis and mar-ad agencies to help them deploy AI across their client-base. “Rashii will work closely with the media and digital marketing agencies ecosystem in India and help implement AI infrastructure and fast track business growth across agency client portfolios,” said the statement.

    Rashii is armed with 16 years of experience in leadership roles across some of the top global entertainment giants including the likes of Star, Walt Disney, Viacom18 and Triller.

    “Marketing is evolving dizzyingly fast, and continually. Agencies, who at any given point handle dozens of client accounts, find themselves constantly on their toes trying to provide maximum marketing returns to clients. And because agencies are so crucial to their client’s growth, it’s imperative to ensure they have the best tech onboard,” commented Pixis Europe & APAC CEO Neel Pandya. “This is precisely where Rashii will be adding enormous value to the agency ecosystem in India, as she will be leading efforts to facilitate the adoption of AI in agencies. It’s with great pleasure that I welcome her to Pixis, and wish her great success in her mission.”

    Rashii aspires to build fortified and sustainable relationships with agencies in order to proliferate the nuances of technology-infused marketing in the cookieless web world today. Commenting on her new role at Pixis, she said, “Having worked closely with agencies before, I’m aware of the amount of stress, chaos and preparation that goes into growing every client account. And I truly look forward to partnering with agency professionals to help them implement a robust AI infrastructure that will profoundly assist them in doing what they already do quite excellently.”

  • VMLY&R India elevates Pooja Jauhari to group CEO

    VMLY&R India elevates Pooja Jauhari to group CEO

    Mumbai: Global brand and customer experience agency VMLY&R on Wednesday announced the appointment of Pooja Jauhari as chief executive officer, VMLY&R India across its group of companies. Based out of the agency’s Mumbai office, she will report to VMLY&R Asia co-CEO Tripti Lochan, who is based in Singapore.

    Jauhari takes over from Anil Nair, who is moving on to pursue new opportunities. Nair joined VMLY&R in 2019 from Law & Kenneth Saatchi & Saatchi India, where he was CEO (digital) and managing partner. VMLY&R first welcomed Jauhari in 2020, as the CEO of The Glitch. The independent creative agency was acquired by WPP in 2017 and integrated into the VMLY&R network in November 2020.

    In this new role, she will oversee the agency’s combined operations, including VMLY&R, The Glitch, VMLY&R Commerce and GTB, across its three offices in India – Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai – plus its service of clients across the Indian subcontinent, said the statement.

    She is also tasked with further integration of the network’s creative excellence in India, with its very strong customer experience, commerce and data capabilities, into an integrated powerhouse focused on human centricity, diversity, inclusion & high performance, it added.

    “Since welcoming The Glitch into the VMLY&R network in 2020, we are seeing that together with VMLY&R India, the whole is far greater than the sum of the parts,” said Tripti Lochan. “Pooja’s proven track record of having driven a gender-blind and positive influence approach, aligns perfectly with our ongoing vision towards ever-improving our own inclusivity and progressiveness. Combined with her track record in growing The Glitch to be one of India’s best-known agencies, producing work for clients both nationally and globally, we believe her elevation makes us even better at creating connected brands, driving business for our clients, and positively impacting the communities they live in.”

    “We thank Anil for being a part of our continued growth in India, and wish him the very best in the next stage of his journey,” she further said.

    Having started her marketing career at JWT two decades ago, Jauhari moved to Unilever and then Worldwide Media before joining The Glitch in 2013. There, she was instrumental to the agency’s success, leading its strategic planning, plus setting its goals and approach to both business and culture.

  • Ilker Ayci declines Tata Sons’ offer to be new Air India CEO

    Ilker Ayci declines Tata Sons’ offer to be new Air India CEO

    Mumbai: Former Turkish Airlines chairman Ilker Ayci has declined Air India’s MD and CEO offer, weeks after appointment. In a statement, Ayic said his appointment was ‘coloured’ by the Indian media, citing it as the reason to opt out.

    “I have come to the conclusion that it would not be a feasible or an honourable decision to accept the position in the shadow of such a narrative,” Ayci said in a statement on Tuesday.

    Ayci was seen as close to Turkish president Racep Tayyip Erdogan, a Pakistan ally. He used to be the personal advisor to Erdogan in 1994 and had served as the chairman of Turkish Airlines from 2015 till now.

    Former chairman of Turkish Airlines Ilker Ayci named Air India CEO

    Ayci said that at a recent meeting with Tata Group chairman Chadrasekaran, he ‘regretfully’ informed him that he will be declining the position.

    “As a business leader who has always prioritized professional credo and more importantly, the happiness and well being of my family above all else, I have come to the conclusion that it would not be a feasible or an honorable decision to accept the position in the shadow of such narrative,” he said.

  • Wieden+Kennedy brings in Santosh Padhi as CCO for India

    Wieden+Kennedy brings in Santosh Padhi as CCO for India

    Mumbai: Wieden+Kennedy (W+K) on Tuesday announced the appointment of Santosh ‘Paddy’ Padhi as chief creative officer (CCO) for India. W+K has been established in Delhi since 2007. 

    “The hire also means an expansion for the independent creative agency into Mumbai, where Paddy will build out the shop’s second India location,” said the company in a statement. 

    In this new role, Padhi will build out a leadership, talent and client roster for the expanded India shop. Dean Wei, who has been the executive creative director leading W+K Delhi since 2019, is leaving the agency later this year to return to London. 

    “W+K have always raised the creative product of our industry for the last 3-4 decades, they were one of my inspirations when Taproot was set up,” Padhi said. “In a business like ours you are as good as the kind of people you have on board—there are some wonderful minds in Delhi and I’m once again fortunate to hand pick some more wonderful people to join us and expand our presence into Mumbai.” 

    Padhi started his advertising career 25 years ago after graduating from art school in Mumbai. He founded Taproot in 2009, and the agency quickly became one of India’s most prominent creative agencies, picking up critical acclaim, accolades and awards.

    Earning over 200 international awards (including two dozen Cannes Lions, and multiple Golds and Grand Prix titles from different award shows) and over 300 local awards, Padhi is one of the most awarded creatives in India.

    “Paddy is a transformative creative leader with an impressive track record building creative companies and brands, and making work that is really centered in culture,” stated Wieden+Kennedy global chief creative officer Karl Lieberman. “We feel lucky to have him join us at a time when we really want to connect further to the creative people and culture in India. We are excited about the future of Wieden+Kennedy in India.”

  • BharatPe co-founder Ashneer Grover resigns as MD and CEO

    BharatPe co-founder Ashneer Grover resigns as MD and CEO

    Mumbai: Ashneer Grover, the co-founder of financial technology firm BaharatPe has resigned from the company’s board as managing director and chief executive officer on Tuesday.

    In his resignation letter, Grover said that he was forced to resign from the company by its investors.

    Grover, in his resignation letter, wrote, “I am being forced to bid adieu to a company of which I am a founder. I say with my head held high today this company stands as a leader in the fintech world. Since the beginning of 2022, unfortunately I have been embroiled in baseless and targeted attacks on me and my family by a few individuals who are ready not only to harm me and my reputation but also harm the reputation of the company, which ostensibly they are trying to protect.”

    “From being celebrated as the face of Indian entrepreneurship and an inspiration to the Indian youth to build their own businesses, I am now wasting myself fighting a long, lonely battle against my own investors and management. Unfortunately, in this battle, the management has lost of what is actually at stake – BharatPe,” he added in his letter.

    Grover’s resignation came a few days after he lost an arbitration that he had filed against the company’s investigation against him, with an emergency arbitrator held that there was no ground to stop governance review at the firm.

    Earlier in January, Grover went on a two-month leave of absence following allegations of using abusive language against Kotak Mahindra Bank staff and fraudulent practices, had filed an arbitration plea with the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) claiming the company’s investigation against him was illegal.

    Last week, Madhuri Jain Grover, the former operations head of BharatPe and wife of Grover was fired from the company. 

  • Meet Rimo Bose – TCL India’s PR and branding manager

    Meet Rimo Bose – TCL India’s PR and branding manager

    Mumbai: Rimo Bose is associated with TCL India as the head of PR & communications department. She commands over six years of experience in the field of corporate communications. 

    Bose joined TCL in the year 2020, and continues to be the lead for all PR and media related activities. As the spokesperson of the company, she believes that TCL brings an array of technologies that the Indian audience will highly appreciate. 

    Her aim is to bring the brand communications closer to the audience via strategic PR techniques; she also believes that TCL as a product brand gives an open door to branding professional to create wonders.

    Previously, Bose worked with Continental Automotive, where she managed both internal and external communications, has worked both in India and Germany, also supported the US market. She has also worked at Akshaya Patra Foundation in marketing communications. Additionally, she has also worked in agencies for clients such as – Bosch, 3M & Scania. She started her career as member of press board for Kolkata Film Festival and enjoyed working at Silicon India as a tech editor.

    Bose is a masters in mass communications from Calcutta University and has a PGDM in public relations from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavans. Apart from being a communications professional, she is an avid reader, enjoys sketching and practices classical dancing.

    She belives in the mantra of “A good communicator can tell you the difference between noise and news.”

  • Ambuj Narayan takes over as Taneira CEO

    Ambuj Narayan takes over as Taneira CEO

    Mumbai: Taneira – the women’s ethnic wear brand from Titan – the Tata Group company has announced the appointment of Ambuj Narayan as chief executive officer. Narayan will spearhead the brand’s journey to drive exponential growth and establish Taneira as the key industry leader in the ethnic apparel segment.

    With experience of over 25 years in sales and operations across retail and consumer durables industries, Narayan has been associated with companies like Metro Cash & Carry, Walmart, Whirlpool and BPL. He has been instrumental in achieving significant business turnarounds and transforming businesses into profitable entities through sustainable practices.

    A Physics (hons) graduate from Delhi University, Narayan has completed his PGD in marketing management from Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies in 1996 and Certificate of Business Excellence from University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business in 2017.

    Speaking on his new role, Ambuj Narayan said, “I am thrilled to be a part of this young, dynamic brand – Taneira that has been committed to bring the best of India’s authentic weaves and crafts from across the country to present contemporary ensembles for the modern Indian women. The brand has been working closely with the rural karigars to upskill them, build exceptional quality products and has made its mark within a short span of time. I look forward to leading the strategic thinking and strengthening the brand value proposition, making Taneira the most loved women’s ethnic-wear brand in the country.”

    Taneira was launched in 2017 to bring about innovation in the largely unorganised women’s ethnic wear category through differentiated designs from over 65 clusters in India.

  • Interactive Avenues names Juin Chakraborty as AVP client servicing-West

    Interactive Avenues names Juin Chakraborty as AVP client servicing-West

    Mumbai: In a significant step towards the agency’s growth strategy, Interactive Avenues – a Reprise Network company has welcomed Juin Chakraborty into the fold. She joins as associate vice president, client servicing – West and will be responsible for delivering business solutions and strategies to clients. Based out of Mumbai, she will report to business head – client servicing Shantanu Mulay.

    With more than 12 years of work experience spanning across digital, including creative, media, and tech, Juin comes with a wealth of experience. Having worked with both agencies and corporates, Juin has a deep understanding of how creative communication and business strategy come seamlessly together to build hugely successful brands. Juin was last with Mahindra & Mahindra (automotive), where she led their digital strategy, creative, and media planning across brands. 

    “Clients are looking at digital offerings differently after the pandemic and there is a need to offer integrated solutions to them. It is important for agencies to take a consultative approach and add value at all touchpoints in their digital transformation process,” said Shantanu Mulay. “Juin is exactly the right person needed to lead this evolved way of working between agencies and clients and we’re excited to see the growth she will be able to deliver.” 

    He further said, “Juin has been a seasoned digital professional and championed many key projects for her clients. We are confident she is going to add immense value and I am delighted to have her on board.” 

    Discussing her new role, Juin said, “What excited me about Interactive Avenues was the company’s efforts towards bringing multiple digital functions together to drive not just digital marketing, but business solutions for clients. I look forward to a fulfilling journey.”

    Juin’s educational credentials include a master’s degree in English from Delhi University and her career spans companies like Ogilvy One, Fortis Healthcare, and Axis Mutual Fund where she explored and mastered the various facets of digital marketing.  

  • Wow Skin Science appoints Gurpinder Singh Walia as SVP-offline sales

    Wow Skin Science appoints Gurpinder Singh Walia as SVP-offline sales

    Mumbai: FMCG personal care brand Wow Skin Science has appointed Gurpinder Singh Walia as the senior vice president – offline sales. He will be heading the offline sales including general trade and modern trade for Woe Skin Science and Body Cupid. 

    “Gurpinder’s role will entail contributing to the development, implementation, monitoring, and review of business strategies that maximise the brand’s retail top and bottom line,” said the brand in a statement.

    In his career spanning over 19 years, Gurpinder comes with vast experience in the consumer goods industry-leading mandate for brands such as Dabur India, Abbott Nutrition International, Henkel India, SC Johnson Products, Parle Products.

    “Wow has led an iconic journey through its vast online presence in a country that is 90 per cent rooted in offline experientials. I am excited to be driving the next growth phase of the organisation through various offline touchpoints,” said Gurpinder Singh Walia.

    “Being an experienced and a strong sales professional, Gurpinder will be able to devise and navigate sales strategies that will strengthen the brand positioning and recall. With him now as part of our brand, we are looking to enhance a WOWsome offline experience through various interesting collaborations,” stated Wow Skin Science co-founder Manish Chowdhary.

  • Susanne Pulverer becomes Ikea India’s first woman CEO & CSO

    Susanne Pulverer becomes Ikea India’s first woman CEO & CSO

    Mumbai: Ingka Group-owned home furnishings retailer Ikea on Thursday announced the appointment of Susanne Pulverer as its first woman chief executive officer and chief sustainability officer for India. Pulverer, an experienced Ikea leader takes over from the outgoing India CEO Peter Betzel, who will move on to his next assignment within the Ikea Group. 

    Prior to her role as Ikea India CEO and CSO, Pulverer held the position of group business risk and compliance manager at the Ingka group. This is her third stint in India.

    Pulverer joined Ikea in 1997 and has worked across different roles within the Swedish company. She started her Ikea journey as environmental manager for the Ikea Group and moved on to Ikea Sweden, where she held various roles in different business categories. She then moved to India in 2007 to head the purchasing function for Ikea South Asia during which she developed a strong connection and passion for India and its people. 

    Before joining Ikea India once again in 2017, she was the managing director at Ikea Communications, the in-house agency of Ikea, for five years during which she led the organisation through a major transformation to drive better business and people results. Pulverer, in her last role in India led market development for Delhi NCR, where she also drove the sustainability agenda and local community initiatives crucial to Ikea’s vision and mission to become a climate-positive business by 2030.  

    “I am excited to be back in India, as we are moving closer towards our vision of creating a better everyday life for the many people. India is a prioritised market for Ingka Group,” stated Susanne Pulvere. “Peter and the team have done a truly commendable job of introducing Ikea in India as a purpose-led brand, expanding the omnichannel presence across cities, strengthening local sourcing and retail competence, and so much more.”

    During his tenure in India, Peter led the Ikea India team through the journey of transformation and with his deep passion for people and business, steered Ikea in India during extraordinary times posed due to the pandemic.  

    “It has been an incredible experience being a part of the Ikea India journey. I am extremely happy to leave the baton in the capable hands of Susanne,” said Peter Betzel. “Her determined and strong leadership is a great inspiration for many of us. I am confident that she will lead our strong value-based India team to make the Ikea vision a reality for many people.”