ITV

Category: People

  • Madison Media Plus CEO Rajul Kulshreshtha moves on

    Madison Media Plus CEO Rajul Kulshreshtha moves on

    Mumbai: Madison Media Plus CEO Rajul Kulshreshtha, who joined in June 2019, has reportedly moved on from the agency. Sources confirming the development said that Kulshreshtha put in his papers two months back and this is his last week at the agency.

    Kulshreshtha has more than two decades of experience in the industry. He started his career with Universal McCann in 1992 and left the organisation after a decade in 2002 as vice president – media services. 

    In 2004, he joined GroupM as general manager – team LG. In 2006, he became the managing director of GroupM agency – Motivator and in 2008, he was promoted to GroupM MD, a position he held till 2010. In 2012, he quit GroupM to join Kinetic India as managing director.

    In 2013, he moved on from Kinetic and started his own media agency Xposure. In 2018 he launched The Consilium a media and marketing consultancy.

    His next move is not known yet.

  • Mukut Deepak joins BYJU’S as head of business

    Mukut Deepak joins BYJU’S as head of business

    Mumbai: Edtech company BYJU’S on Monday announced the appointment of Mukut Deepak as head of business to lead its class 4 to 10 school segment. He will report to BYJU’S COO Mrinal Mohit.

    In this role, Deepak will be responsible for expanding and leading the flagship business for the class 4 to 10 segment, said the company. “Working in conjunction with the product, marketing, and sales teams, he will forecast, build and propose strategies for the growth of his vertical and establish systems and operations to optimise the company’s goals,” it added.

    Before joining BYJU’S, Deepak was with Tata Sky Ltd as chief business development and as director for Tata Sky’s digital venture. A business leader with over two decades of experience in varied sectors, he brings on board his expertise in envisioning and building new-age digital businesses, entrepreneurship, sales, strategy, service excellence, and more. He has been an entrepreneur twice over, once as a founder of a distribution venture focussed on retailing innovative financial services products called Distribution 2.0 and then as director and head of advisory for a logistics start-up called Thinklink Supply Chain Services.

    “Mukut’s strong expertise in developing businesses for various corporations will help scale the offerings of brand BYJU’S for classes 4 to 10,” stated BYJU’S chief people officer Pravin Prakash. “We are confident that under his able leadership the business will further strengthen and we look forward to extending all the support in his journey with us.”

    Deepak spent nearly a decade in management consulting across Boston Consulting Group and Bain & Company working with CEOs and board members across a host of topics. He started his career in the sales and marketing function at Unilever (India), often cited as the school for CEOs. He has won several awards and accolades during his professional career in various domains such as consumer goods and services, IT, media, telecom, and private equity. 

    “BYJU’S has taken the transformative power of education to students in every part of the country through its innovative online learning model. The company has grown exponentially in the past couple of years, displaying a promising future in revamping the face of education,” said Deepak, on his new role. “I am looking forward to further building and scaling the business and making Byju’s the most preferred after-school destination for students across the country.”

  • Farhad Khan appointed as CTO at DataTrained

    Farhad Khan appointed as CTO at DataTrained

    Mumbai: Edtech startup DataTrained has announced the appointment of Farhad Khan as CTO. 

    In his new role, Khan will aim to enable DataTrained to provide the best learning experience to help students seamlessly go through their learning journey, the edtech company said in a statement.

    Khan holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science and has been working in the tech world for eight years while achieving familiarity with several programming languages. Being a technology enthusiast, he is always on the lookout for a better solution to push forward the company’s growth.

    On his work and thoughts on his new role at DataTrained, Khan said, “I use tech to solve business problems. Right now, I am focused on revolutionising education in India.”

    He further added, “I am very intrigued with DataTrained’s mission to charge up youth with new generation skills required by the rapidly changing industry requirements. Specialised courses offered at DataTrained are very carefully designed and are equipped with adequate skill sets with help in bridging the gap between the freshers’ skillsets and the demand of the industry. As CTO, I aim to enable DataTrained to provide the best learning experience to help students seamlessly go through their learning journey.”

    Previously, Khan has been a serial entrepreneur where his first venture was an information technology and outsourcing company which he started with an aim to enable Indian businesses with technology and expand online.

  • Hashtag Orange onboards Gaurav Singh as chief growth officer

    Hashtag Orange onboards Gaurav Singh as chief growth officer

    Mumbai: Digital communication agency Hashtag Orange has brought Gaurav Singh on board as chief growth officer. In this role, Singh will be responsible for all three verticals: creative, media, and technology, said the agency.

    Singh is a marketing professional with multifold experience across brand strategy, marketing communication, and digital transformation programs. He has launched multinational brands, built online businesses, and managed large digital transformation programs in India and other SEA (South East Asia) markets.

    “Glad to have Gaurav with his astute and proven experience in building brands and online business. I am confident Gaurav adds fresh thinking and energy to our leadership team and adds value to our existing and new clients,” said Hashtag Orange founder Mukesh Vij, welcoming Singh on board.

    Prior to joining Hashtag Orange, Singh’s last stint was with Telenor, where he worked in India, Thailand, and Myanmar. He also played a key role in the launch of Virgin brand in India, which bagged multiple awards including a coveted Cannes nomination.

    “Today the line between offline and online is disappearing and brands are looking for a partner who can offer integrated marketing solutions including brand strategy, creative, media & technology to deliver business growth,” said Singh on his new role. “Team at HO is already doing some great work in this direction, I am looking forward to working with them to accelerate this process.”

  • Tilt Brand Solutions appoints Michelle Suradkar as COO

    Tilt Brand Solutions appoints Michelle Suradkar as COO

    Mumbai: Brand and communications consultancy Tilt Brand Solutions has announced the appointment of Michelle Suradkar as chief operating officer, effective 15 November. In her new role, she will report to founder and CMD Joseph George, said the agency in a statement.

    ”We have been fortunate to have had a terrific run the first three years of our existence, and this has given us the confidence to shift gears as we ready up to manage scale and the accompanying complexities,” stated George. “Michelle is someone whom I have worked with very closely for almost a decade when at Lintas; and her competencies, interests, work ethic and energy is just what we all at Tilt need as we embark on the next phase of our journey at Tilt.”

    An MBA from Bajaj, Suradkar started out with The Coca-Cola Company before joining Lintas, where she was, for almost 20 years. She was previously associated with MullenLowe Lintas Group up until 2020 as group chief HR officer. She was also part of the group’s managing committee.

    An active advocate for gender equity in the workplace, Suradkar was a co-founder of IPG’s Women’s Leadership Network in India, running initiatives for greater gender balance and enhancing gender sensitivity across all levels in the organisation. She co-founded and ran several agency-wide initiatives to further improve the group’s governance and build future-facing capabilities.

    She also co-founded the crisis response and management team which worked towards preparing the organisation’s response to a wide variety of man-made and natural crises situations. She created and ran the Lowe Lintas apprenticeship program, an industry first, reaching out to the untapped potential of students across India beyond metro cities.

    Suradkar has been awarded the ‘Most Influential HR Leader’ award by the World HRD Congress and has also been counted among the ‘100 Most Influential Global HR Professionals’ by CHRO Asia. She is also a certified extended DISC administrator and a certified POSH trainer.

    “I have watched with admiration how Tilt has gone about building itself these past three years, and I am not surprised with what they believe they can achieve from here on,” said Suradkar. “Scaling up while continuing to deliver to clients the brave and effective work they have come to expect from Tilt is a task that is as exhilarating as it is challenging. I am looking forward to us building a world-class, made-in-India model which becomes the benchmark for our industry.”

  • Allana Consumer Products appoints Kaizzen as its PR agency

    Allana Consumer Products appoints Kaizzen as its PR agency

    Mumbai:  Allana Consumer Products has awarded its PR mandate to Kaizzen. The mandate encompasses providing strategic communications support to the Consumer Products Division of Allana Group, covering corporate reputation management and brand visibility for all its consumer products across media platforms.

    Allana Group, CEO of the Consumer Products Division Milind Pingle said, “Kaizzen has a good understanding and know-how of PR industry and has worked with several corporates to build their image and reputation in a dynamic world. We are excited to collaborate with them and count on their domain knowledge and expertise in developing a positive and respectful image of Allana Consumer Products and its businesses and brands in India in the years ahead.”

    Kaizzen president Nikhil Pavithran said, “We are thankful to Allana Consumer Products for placing their trust in us. We, at Kaizzen, are committed to creating meaningful end-to-end media solutions and executing innovative, disruptive, and high-impact PR campaigns that will positively impact the business and the industry as a whole. We are enthused to work with the Allana Group who has a long and rich heritage and a Vision to grow its business in Consumer Products in a sustainable manner.”

  • Michael Komasinski appointed as global CEO, Merkle

    Michael Komasinski appointed as global CEO, Merkle

    Mumbai: dentsu International has announced that Michael Komasinski is to be promoted to the role of global chief executive officer of Merkle, and a member of the dentsu international executive team. He replaces Craig Dempster who has been a member of the Merkle executive leadership team for nearly 15 years and joined dentsu during Merkle’s acquisition in 2016. Craig will retire from the business at the end of the year.

    Komasinski will commence his role as global CEO Merkle on 1 January and will join the dentsu International executive team, reporting to Wendy Clark. The new president, Merkle Americas will be announced in due course, the agency stated. 

    “Michael’s track record speaks for itself. He inspires and leads teams in developing impactful, data-driven, and tech-enabled customer experiences while building lasting and values-based relationships with clients,” said dentsu International global CEO Wendy Clark. “He shares our collective ambition to become the most integrated agency network, delivering integrated solutions to drive growth for our clients across creative, media, and CXM. I know Michael is ready to progress this agenda at the helm of Merkle and will be a key leader for dentsu as we further accelerate our growth and momentum.”

    “Craig has been instrumental in growing the Merkle business over the past 15 years. He leaves the brand in great shape with a strong client portfolio, a solid leadership team and a business that is much more integrated into dentsu. It has been a privilege to work with Craig as part of my executive team,” Clark added.

    As global CEO, Dempster has played an integral role in driving Merkle’s culture, growth and profitability, and in building Merkle’s relationships with flagship brands such as AT&T, GEICO, Citizens, and AARP. He has also been a key leader on the dentsu international executive team. “I am immensely proud of what we as a brand have achieved over these past 15 years. Merkle’s growth and offering under dentsu is world class. Putting data at the heart of everything we do at dentsu is transforming our offer and ultimately providing our clients with a seamless and integrated experience to deliver outstanding growth. I celebrate and thank our people in helping to build one of the most innovative businesses in the world,” Dempster said.

    Komasinski is a natural successor to the role and brings a wealth of experience having led Merkle across two of dentsu’s three regions, the agency said. Joining Merkle seven years ago as chief operating officer of Agency Services, he went on to become president of Merkle’s Europe, Middle East, and Africa region (EMEA), leading a business of over $400 million in net revenue. During his four years within the EMEA business, it experienced five times growth.

    “Bringing together our combined strengths with dentsu makes us truly market-leading, demonstrating to our clients the breadth of capability we offer to deliver integrated marketing solutions and business outcomes,” stated Komasinski. “Talent is the lifeblood of brands like Merkle and it is a key focus in the pandemic era as the labor market tightens and we pivot to hybrid ways of working. As in the past, we are focused on making Merkle and dentsu the employer of choice where the best talent in the industry wants to come develop and thrive.”  

    He currently serves as president of Merkle/CXM, Americas, and leader of the dentsu Customer Experience Management (CXM) Service Line in the Americas, overseeing all aspects of Merkle’s Americas regional operation.

    Komasinski’s appointment comes at a pivotal time for dentsu as the business moves closer to its ambition of becoming the most integrated agency network in the world, that’s data-driven, tech-enabled and ideas-led. Powered by Merkle, dentsu is focused on delivering growth for clients through its integrated human-centric solutions, said the agency in a statement.

    Merkle is one of dentsu’s six leadership brands, and was a game-changing acquisition, that’s proved a worthy investment as it remains the market leader in people-based customer experience and a strong growth engine for dentsu. Earlier this year, the brand’s industry leadership was further reinforced with the acquisition of LiveArea, bolstering Merkle’s global experience and commerce capabilities, and further positioning the business as a go-to experience partner for businesses around the world.

  • Heads Up For Tails appoints Samriddh Dasgupta as CMO

    Heads Up For Tails appoints Samriddh Dasgupta as CMO

    Mumbai: Homegrown D2C pet care company Heads Up For Tails (HUFT) on Thursday announced the appointment of Samriddh Dasgupta as chief marketing officer.

    In his new role, Dasgupta will be responsible for scaling growth across the levers of brand and marketing, partnerships, community culture and engagement, and product innovation, said the company in a statement.

    “We at HUFT have always focused on building teams that are able to bring in perspectives that help us push the envelope of how we think about our business today. We are very excited to have Samriddh join us in our growth journey,” stated HUFT founder Rashi Sanon. “In his past roles across D2C, FMCG, content, and media, he has a proven track record of building strong brands in large categories. Samriddh will be helping us expand our omnichannel brand presence and help take our purpose forward across various consumer touchpoints.”

    Dasgupta brings with him over 19 years of diverse leadership experience across sales, marketing and advertising and has worked on growing traditional and digital-first businesses across categories.

    Prior to HUFT, he led marketing and communications for Bombay Shaving Company as its vice president – marketing & new brands. Previously, he was head of marketing at Akiva Superfoods, Aakash Digital, Xynteo, a Norwegian sustainability firm, and Dineout. The first decade of his career was spent as an entrepreneur in advertising, where he supported the growth of emerging businesses across India, from industries as diverse as education, healthcare, diagnostics, FMCG, NBFCs, pharma, footwear, and infrastructure.

    “Heads Up for Tails is a formidable category creator brand in the pet-care industry and I am excited to be part of their vision of becoming a trustable go-to-destination for all pet parents,” said Dasgupta on his new role. “Rashi and her team have built a purpose-driven and innovation-led business bringing products and services to help pets and pet parents live their best lives, together. As a part of the marketing and communications mandate, we will be focussing on combining the richness of consumer insights and data intelligence in the system.”

  • SoCheers names Aanchal Kohli as head of corporate communications

    SoCheers names Aanchal Kohli as head of corporate communications

    Mumbai: Digital-first full-service advertising agency SoCheers has named Aanchal Kohli as head of corporate communications.

    In her new role, Kohli will be focusing on strengthening the agency’s internal and external communications along with award participation, therefore expanding its media outreach at global platforms, said the statement.

    “Aanchal comes with a truck-full of industry experience and invaluable perspective and we are extremely excited about building a strong PR & Communications department under her leadership,” stated SoCheers director – brand experience & employee engagement Rajni Daswani. “Her expertise in previous agencies and with multiple clients will help the agency widen its avenues at various national and international platforms, along with building and strengthening SoCheers’ media presence.”

    Kohli comes with over 10 years of experience in the field of journalism and corporate communications. Having started her career as a journalist she has given much to the media industry covering the nuances of the advertising and entertainment industry. Prior to SoCheers Aanchal Kohli was with Adfactors, WATConsult & Enormous Brands.

    “I am eagerly looking ahead to bringing something new to the table, seeing the agency reach newer heights and further strengthening the mark that it has already made for itself in the industry,” said Kohli. “A genuine shout-out to Mehul Gupta (SoCheers co-founder and CEO) and Rajni Daswani, along with the entire #cheersquad, for welcoming me into the family with utter warmth and joy. I can say with utmost confidence that it indeed feels like the start of something cheerful!”

  • Usha International appoints Anshuman Chakravarty as VP, marketing

    Usha International appoints Anshuman Chakravarty as VP, marketing

    Mumbai: Usha International has appointed Anshuman Chakravarty as vice president – marketing. He will report to executive chairman Krishna Shriram and will handle the operations from Gurugram.

    Chakravarty is a brand management and marketing communications practitioner with experience in working in India and international markets (Asia & Europe), with exposure in B2C & B2B domains. He is armed with over 23 years of experience in strategising and executing brand launches, re-positioning strategies, media planning and buying, internal and external communication, social & digital marketing, PR & reputation management, and crisis communication.

    An MBA in marketing & post-graduate in journalism and mass communication, Chakravarty started his career at Sahara Group as manager of brand and corporate communications. 

    He later joined DS Group, where he served as associate head of corporate communications and post that, he worked with Jindal Stainless and Kaefer as head of corporate communications.

    In his most recent role, he was associated with electrical equipment manufacturer Orient Electric as head of brand and corporate communications for over seven years.