ITV

Category: People

  • Panasonic India names Fumiyasu Fujimori as divisional director, consumer sales

    Panasonic India names Fumiyasu Fujimori as divisional director, consumer sales

    Mumbai: Tech major Panasonic India on Monday announced the appointment of Fumiyasu Fujimori as divisional director, consumer sales division. He will be based out of Panasonic India headquarters in Gurgaon.

    Fujimori joined the company in 1995 in Osaka, Japan. In his career spanning 26 years, he has worked in various international markets such as China, Singapore and Thailand overseeing strategy planning, business development, and marketing communications across business divisions of Panasonic. 

    In his previous role, Fujimori was based in Japan, where he was leading the global marketing efforts for Panasonic’s Imaging Business Unit (Lumix, digital cameras).

    “It is an important time for Panasonic India as we strengthen our presence across consumer appliances and smart living solutions in India,” said Panasonic India CEO Manish Sharma. “Fujimori’s rich experience of working with Panasonic across many markets will certainly contribute to the growth of our business here in India.”

    “My first stint here was in 2009 as part of the audio team, where I got an opportunity to gain market experience. I believe, this is a high-potential market that offers significant growth opportunities and as I resume my new role here I am looking forward to leveraging this potential through strategic interventions and providing Indian consumers with a value proposition,” stated Fumiyasu Fujimori on his new role.

  • FlexC appoints Anantha Krishnan as chief talent solutions officer

    FlexC appoints Anantha Krishnan as chief talent solutions officer

    Mumbai: AI-Powered talent marketplace FlexC has appointed Anantha Krishnan as its new chief talent solutions officer. In this role, he will be looking after talent solutions and end-to-end mobilising of resources.  

    Previously, Krishnan was associated with Larsen & Toubro Infotech (LTI) as an associate director, where he was leading the people supply chain (PSC) with various business and technology units. He has more than two decades of rich and versatile experience in operating talent solutions, having worked with companies like Samsung and Deccanet.

    During his stint in LTI, Krishnan also took up the additional role of revenue partner for the consumer, media & entertainment and technology vertical, contributing to threefold revenue growth of the unit in a span of about three years, said the company in a statement. 

    Before this, he led the product of Integrated Automated Test Engine for Samsung’s Soft switch lab and launched the verification utility for SKT (South Korea Telecom) network.

    Commenting on the new leadership, FlexC founder and CEO  Girsh Kukreja said, “Anantha’s People Supply Chain prowess, Talent Solutions experience , product engineering background and operating at scale will accelerate FlexC’s talent supply and process to be client’s partner of choice . Going further, the talent fulfillment quality and expanding Recruiters network will continue to fortify FlexC’s ability to capitalise on the remarkable market opportunity right up-front.”

    In his long-spanning career, he also played the role of defect analyst and led the vendor management team for Google and Ericsson platforms for Sony Ericsson Mobile Communication in Japan. 

    “I am excited to be part of the core team at FlexC. The start-up has built an AI-Driven Talent Marketplace that allows companies to access, engage and manage hybrid workforce efficiently, at a fractional cost from anywhere in the world. I am thrilled to be a part of the organisation and look forward to disrupting the talent marketplace in India,” Krishnan said on his appointment.

  • Arvind Sharma to be conferred with AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award 2021

    Arvind Sharma to be conferred with AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award 2021

    Mumbai: The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) announced on Monday that AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award for 2021 will be conferred on advertising veteran Arvind Sharma. This is the highest honour to be given to an individual in India for his/her outstanding contribution to the advertising industry.

    Arvind Sharma, an IIM Ahmedabad alumnus, has had a long and successful career in the Indian advertising industry. What made him a true industry leader was the way he managed to make people achieve more than what they thought they were capable of, said the association in a statement.

    As a young leader, he was tasked with making a local agency, Chaitra, transition into the Indian arm of Leo Burnett Worldwide. Over two eventful decades, he created an organisation that was both formidable and flexible. In doing this, he turned a safe and conservative agency into a creative power center. Soon, the agency’s work on Thums Up, Bajaj, Heinz, P&G, and many others saw it taking on the big guns in creative pitches as well as award shows, becoming one of India’s early winners at Cannes.

    Sharma has also been responsible for several incredible talents that have blossomed under his watch.

    Making the announcement, AAAI president Anupriya Acharya stated, “Arvind Sharma has been a true pioneer. Apart from singlehandedly making Leo Burnett a top agency and a force to reckon with he has also groomed some of the finest talents in our industry. But more than that he has made a tremendous contribution to our industry across both the art and science of advertising. He is truly deserving of this honour.”

    AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award selection committee chairman Ashish Bhasin said, “Arvind is a deserving winner of this prestigious honor. Not only has he been a successful advertising professional, he has also contributed significantly to the industry in various capacities, including as President of AAAI and a key driver in launching Goafest. I am pleased to say that the entire committee was unanimous in conferring this award upon Arvind.”

    The AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award is presented annually to an individual who has been a practitioner of advertising for twenty-five years and had been in the top management position; has been or continues to be an active participant in industry bodies and or made significant contributions in shaping the industry priorities which enabled the advertising industry to grow, prosper and become more professionalised; individual known for his integrity, ethical practice and leadership qualities; contributed to his Company/Companies growth by innovative thinking and taking them in newer directions; involved in projects of social consequence which is seen as a role model for the industry at large and had been an industry veteran.

    Some of the past winners of this award include Subhas Ghosal, Alyque Padamsee, Mike Khanna, R K Swamy, Piyush Pandey, Sam Balsara, Prem Mehta, Roda Mehta, Ram Sehgal, Madhukar Kamath, and others.

    Formed in 1945, the AAAI is the national organisation of advertising agencies to promote their industry interests. The AAAI today comprises a very large number of small, medium, and large-sized agencies as its members, who together account for almost 80 per cent of the advertising business placed in the country.

  • Sirish Suveer joins Tilt Brand Solutions as senior director, business

    Sirish Suveer joins Tilt Brand Solutions as senior director, business

    Mumbai: Brand & communication consultancy Tilt Brand Solutions has appointed Sirish Suveer as senior director – business. In this role, Suveer will report to Tilt’s co-founder and chief business officer Rajiv Chatterjee.

    ”We are really excited to have Sirish jointly lead the account management function along with Avinash Shenoy – senior director, business, as we grow and continue to consolidate businesses,” stated Chatterjee. “He is joining us at a pivotal time for Tilt, as we scale up and continue to take on larger full-service mandates. His experience at leading key agency businesses is exactly why we feel this is a perfect fit and time.”

    Suveer has over 18 years of experience in advertising and marketing. Across his previous stints at Publicis, MullenLowe Lintas Group, JWT &amp, Max Life Insurance, he has led the teams on brands like Citibank, Heineken, Zee5, Skoda, Dabur, Vistara, Airtel, PepsiCo, and Britannia amongst many others. His work on them has won him effectiveness laurels at Effies India & APAC.

    “I am excited to start this new inning with Tilt. Hunger is evident in the agency culture, in the last 3 years Tilt has built an enviable portfolio,” said Suveer. “With the strategic approach of ‘Full-Brained Thinking’ and the creative mantra of  ‘One Brand. Many Stories,’ the ambition is to create notable work and build rewarding narratives for our partners. I look forward to leading a formidable team and creating magic.”

  • Ashish Bhasin steps down as dentsu International CEO APAC & chairman India

    Ashish Bhasin steps down as dentsu International CEO APAC & chairman India

    Mumbai: dentsu International CEO – APAC and India chairman Ashish Bhasin has put in his papers and Friday is his last day at the company. dentsu international has confirmed the development in an official statement.

    Bhasin made the announcement in an internal email to his colleagues at dentsu where he broke the news that the company has accepted his request for early retirement.

    “I have had a wonderful 13+ years and have enjoyed leading dentsu India and dentsu APAC. In this journey I was lucky to have a brilliant team, very supportive colleagues and have made some lovely friends for life. Dentsu is a great company and I wish them the very best,” he wrote.

    He further added, “I am unable to comment on my future plans for now but in the meanwhile I am really looking forward to going to Harvard for the Advanced Management Program, for which I have secured admission for the next semester.”

    Confirming that Ashish Bhasin is seeking early retirement from dentsu after 13 years with the business, the company, in an official statement, added that a successor will be announced in due course.

    “To manage this transition, Simon Jones, CFO APAC & Belli Mathanda, COO APAC will work closely with our global CEO, Wendy Clark, who will have a greater focus on the region during this time supported by the APAC Executive team,” dentsu said.

    “This strong team is well placed to continue the positive transformation underway in the region as we simplify how we operate and bring together our leading capabilities in service of our clients in Creative, Media and CXM to realise our global ambition to be the most integrated agency network in the world,” stated the company.

    It further added that in India, Peter Huijboom will continue his interim, day-to-day leadership of the business with the India leadership team, while the company is in the final stages of its search and appointment of a new CEO in India.

    Bhasin joined dentsu in 2008 as India CEO and joined the global executive team when he was promoted to CEO, Asia Pacific in 2019.

  • V-Mart Retail appoints Aakash Moondhra as chairman

    V-Mart Retail appoints Aakash Moondhra as chairman

    Mumbai: Retail store chain V-Mart Retail Ltd has announced the appointment of Aakash Moondhra as chairman of the company. The company also announced a strategic change in its leadership structure, with the role of chairman and managing director now being split and Moondhra (independent director) being designated as chairman, while Lalit Agarwal would continue in his role as managing director.

    Moondhra is PayU’s global CFO and continues to remain an independent director on the board of VMart. “I am thankful to the Board for posing the confidence in me and I will try my best to contribute in making VMart an even better organisation than it already is and I look forward to this exciting journey together with the fellow board members,” Moondhra said on his appointment. “The purpose behind this role separation is not merely with related compliance; rather, it is to ensure an even better and balanced governance structure and effective guidance to the management.”

    Founded in 2002, V-Mart is an omnichannel retail store chain offering fashion apparel, footwear, home furnishings, general merchandise, and Kirana. Primarily focusing on tier 2 and 3 cities, V-Mart is present pan-India with 368 stores in 26 states, the company follows the concept of ‘value retailing’ for the affordable fashion of the rapidly-expanding middle class, stated the brand.

    “The appointment of Aakash as the chairman will herald a new era of corporate governance in the company,” said Lalit Agarwal. “Aakash has been a torchbearer of ethics and governance and this indeed is a big change for a so far promoter-led company which is now embarking on its new charter of growth, ably supported by a deep-rooted professional and independent governance culture.”

    “In the long run, this diversion of roles would surely benefit all stakeholders in our value chain. It is a key to promote overall Board independence while enabling me to focus even more deeply on driving company growth, value creation for all our shareholders, and day-to-day company management,” he further said.

  • Ants Digital strengthens leadership team with Faisal Haq as COO

    Ants Digital strengthens leadership team with Faisal Haq as COO

    Mumbai: Ants Digital, a tech-led marketing agency based out of Gurgaon, has appointed Faisal Haq as chief operating officer.  

    Haq comes with over 21 years of experience and has joined Ants after working for WATConsult-Dentsu International for over 6.5 years in the capacity of EVP operations and business development. In his two decades of rich experience, he has worked in different positions with Roshcomm (Kingdom of Bahrain), Askme.com, Crosshairs Communication, and Avian Media. He brings with him a very good experience of digital and technology in both domestic and international markets.

    “Faisal comes with a great understanding of different markets which will hugely help Ants in strengthening its footprint across the globe. Our bullish approach in getting great clients onboard has served us well as we have acquired some noteworthy clients in the space of infrastructure, health and wellness, defence, and insurance sector,” stated Ants Digital CEO Sanjay Arora. “With Faisal joining Ants, the team is excited to serve more extensive mandates even in the International markets. By investing heavily in technology and hiring good talent, we have been working towards scaling our operations across Gurgaon, Mumbai, and Hyderabad.”

    Haq comes with over 21 years of experience in integrated marketing, digital media marketing, social media, data-driven marketing, and advertising with domain exposure with various startups, emerging tech, technology, mobile media, programmatic, consulting, regional and global market.

    “Ants has been scaling ideas and its business pan India, and I am excited to build and grow this further,” said Haq on his new role. “The online prowess and unique mix of service offerings, including digital, brand building, creatives and content and technology, make the whole offering more future-ready and agile. I am really excited to be part of the team and look forward to this challenge.”

  • Neeraj Sharma joins Globale Media as vice president, global business

    Neeraj Sharma joins Globale Media as vice president, global business

    Mumbai: AI-driven mobile advertising platform Globale Media has announced Neeraj Sharma’s appointment as vice president, global business. In this role, Sharma will advise on the strategy and critical decisions in the APAC market where digital penetration is skyrocketing, said the company in a statement.

    Sharma brings over 14 years of experience in digital and mobile advertising, with his previous experience at Mobvista as country manager South Asia & MEA. He has also served at Seventynine – SVG Media Pvt Ltd as regional manager of sales.

    “We are delighted to continue our growth in APAC. With Neeraj Sharma’s appointment, we are marking a significant milestone for our global vision,” said Globale Media founder and CEO Bhavesh Talreja. “Neeraj has extensive experience working within rapidly scaling organizations and digital marketing technology. He excels at defining GTM & revenue strategies, strategic alliances, and at leading multicultural teams across different business verticals. His experience will undoubtedly help us to get the message of Globale Media’s unparalleled offering out to the market.”

    In his previous role at Mobvista, Sharma has successfully defined GTM strategy for the Indian subcontinent, Middle East & Africa, led business growth and marketing initiatives, and represented the company at various platforms and industry events. In 2020 he was also felicitated by World Marketing Congress and CMO Asia as one of the 100 smartest Digital Marketing Leaders.

    “I am looking forward to working closely on strategy with the dynamic team of Globale Media, as the business continues upon its growth trajectory,” said Sharma on his new assignment. “I am excited to be equipped with the opportunity to help Globale Media further extend innovative solutions and deliver world-class service to the app marketers.”

  • Absen appoints Vishal Kanwal as industry development director for India

    Absen appoints Vishal Kanwal as industry development director for India

    Mumbai : Absen has appointed Vishal Kanwal as its India industry development director. The company specialises in providing LED display manufacturing.

    Kanwal has 18 years of experience in the technology industry and has worked across research and development, AV and B2C consumer electronics job functions.

    “I am extremely delighted to join team Absen. My prime focus would be to establish the brand ‘Absen’ in India by close cooperation with esteemed partners to provide appropriate solutions and service to our end customers for their requirements,” said Kanwal.

  • ZebPay elevates Raj Karkara to chief operating officer

    ZebPay elevates Raj Karkara to chief operating officer

    Mumbai: Bitcoin and crypto asset exchange platform ZebPay has elevated Raj Karkara to the role of chief operating officer (COO). He will work closely with ZebPay’s co-CEO Avinash Shekhar, in setting and driving organisational vision, operational strategy, performance management and hiring needs.

    Karkara’s primary responsibility will be to develop actionable business strategies and plans that align with the company’s short-term and long-term objectives. Additionally, he will work towards translating the strategy into executable goals for performance and further growth of ZebPay,  said the company in a statement on Wednesday.

    “Raj has strengthened ZebPay’s presence and business in the crypto ecosystem since he joined us over a year ago. With his extensive expertise, ZebPay will see rapid growth and global expansion to achieve our vision of becoming become the #1 cryptocurrency exchange in India and the world,” stated Shekhar. “We are building ZebPay as an all-encompassing crypto company that offers innovative solutions and products to a diverse set of investors, from retail to institutional.”  

    He joined ZebPay as chief business officer in September 2020 and more recently, had been promoted to the role of chief marketing officer. With this role change, in addition to marketing, Karkara will now directly oversee product management, trade, OTC, global growth and operations (customer service and excellence).

    Karkara comes with over 15 years of experience in the financial services, fintech and e-commerce industries. Previously, he was associated with KansoStrategy as co-founder, a boutique strategy and consulting firm that works with crypto, e-commerce, payments and fintech clients globally. Prior to Kanso, he held various positions such as senior vice president of product, CRO and COO at tZERO, the global leader in digital securities. He also held the role of vice president of product management for financial services, loyalty and new business development at Overstock. Prior to Overstock, he held the role of director, global product and solutions at MasterCard, where his responsibilities included prepaid strategy and mobile money.

    “ZebPay has been innovating and launching new and industry-first products to address the needs of a diverse set of customers ever since its inception in 2014 and I am excited to lead ZebPay as it gears up for further expansion,” said Karkara, on his new role. “Crypto is booming in India with vast untapped potential for solutions that will make us a global leader. ZebPay is well-positioned to play an integral part and I am looking forward to driving strategies and building on our foundation of product and customer excellence to be the leading crypto exchange in India and globally.”