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Category: People

  • BYJU’S appoints Puneet Bhirani as senior VP, operations

    BYJU’S appoints Puneet Bhirani as senior VP, operations

    Mumbai: Edtech company BYJU’S on Monday announced the appointment of Puneet Bhirani as senior vice president – operations.

    In his role, Bhirani will oversee the company’s overall operations strategy as well as build strong and innovative technological support to scale the business. He will strengthen internal capacity as per the strategic objectives, said the company in a statement.

    “Puneet brings in a wealth of experience coupled with a deep understanding of business operations. We believe his joining will be a great value addition to the team and look forward to supporting him along the way,” said BYJU’S chief people officer Pravin Prakash.

    Before joining BYJU’S, Bhirani was associated with Ola Fleet as CEO and group COO at Ola across mobility, foods, and Ola electric. A CXO with over 24 years of cross-cultural experience across India, the UK, and the US, he brings on board his expertise in business transformation, new business setup & expansion, business development & cost/resource optimisation across various domains.

    “I am extremely excited to be a part of the team that’s redefining the online learning space and making quality education accessible to all students,” said Bhirani. “BYJU’S has displayed disruptive growth over the past 1.5 years, and I am looking forward to becoming an integral part of the brand’s upheaval and introducing new practices to continue the seamless momentum of existing processes.”  

  • Havas Creative Group India names Debpriyo Bhattacherjee as EVP & Planning head-north

    Havas Creative Group India names Debpriyo Bhattacherjee as EVP & Planning head-north

    Mumbai: Havas Creative Group India has appointed Debopriyo (Debo) Bhattacherjee as EVP & planning Head – North effective immediately.

    In his new role, Bhattacherjee will be responsible for providing strategic guidance to Havas Creative with a special focus on all brands of Reckitt and a portfolio of brands from the Dabur stable. “He will also be spearheading clients like Suzuki, Norton, Fortis, William Grants, ITC, and working closely with the senior leadership team to drive new client acquisitions and ensuring seamless adoption of the process of integration and collaboration across the group,” the agency announced on Monday.

    He will be based out of the Gurgaon office and will be reporting to Havas Group India’s chief strategy officer Neeraj Bassi.

    A strategic planner with 17 years of work experience, Bhattacherjee has worked with several agencies in India and Southeast Asia including Ogilvy, Dentsu, DDB, and McCann. He also served as the head of strategy planning for over three years in Havas at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. His expertise lies in solving business problems by sparking and nurturing creative possibilities. Bhattacherjee has worked on a multitude of blue-chip accounts, namely, Unilever, Danone, Mondelez, L’Oréal, Coke, Mitsubishi, Toyota, Diageo, SABMiller, Carlsberg, Maxis, AXA, ICICI, PETRONAS, and Tesco, among others.

    “Debo has both the experience and knowledge of handling brands across a wide range of categories. He has been part of the Havas network earlier and understands the culture of Integration that Havas offers to its clients. His unique perspectives and ideas will undoubtedly increase our abilities to produce interesting work for our client portfolio,” said Havas Creative Group India- president, Manas Lahiri.

    On his new role, Bhattacherjee said, “For me, it is a homecoming to a network that I admire. So, with the change in consumer behaviour especially post the pandemic, the endeavour will be to keep working on creating differentiated strategies for all the leading brands of Reckitt, Dabur, Suzuki, and many others. I’m looking forward to working with the dynamic team of Havas Village India.”

  • Ford India MD Anurag Mehrotra to step down by month-end

    Ford India MD Anurag Mehrotra to step down by month-end

    Mumbai: American auto major Ford has announced a change at the helm of affairs in India, weeks after declaring the stoppage of local manufacturing in the country. The company informed that Ford India president and managing director Anurag Mehrotra has put in his papers and will step down from his post by the end of September.

    Balasundaram Radhakrishnan (Bala), currently Ford India Pvt Ltd (FIPL) director – manufacturing, will take charge as transformation officer, stated the company.

    Bala has more than three decades of automotive experience and comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the Ford Production System. Under his leadership, the company’s Chennai plant witnessed 40 engine and 10 vehicle launches.

    “Bala will oversee and drive the transformation efforts associated with the restructuring,” said the FIPL spokesperson, adding that the company was committed to supporting customers and partners in India.

    After almost three decades of its operations in the Indian market, Ford Motor Company on 9 September announced shutting down passenger vehicle manufacturing operations at its two plants in the country. Moving forward, Ford India will focus on the sale of imported vehicles only.

  • Gozoop appoints Yash Bendkhale as creative director

    Gozoop appoints Yash Bendkhale as creative director

    Mumbai Digital-first agency Gozoop has announced the appointment of Yash Bendkhale as creative director. 

    He will be heading the art team & co-leading the production team with creative director Aadheeraj Krishna and will report to VP of national operations Premkumar Iyer, said the company.

    “Yash has deep understanding of integrated communication with his mainline and digital experience. We welcome Yash to the team and look forward to championing conversations that leave an impact in the mind of people,” said Gozoop CEO and co-founder Ahmed Aftab Naqvi.

    Bendkhale, who has 12 years of industry experience, was last associated with What’s Your Problem (WYP). He was instrumental in conceptualising various brand campaigns during his over two-year stint at the agency.

    “Gozoop as an agency has always gone beyond the ordinary and with the aim to #BreakTheBox in even the smallest communication. I am beyond thrilled to start this exhilarating journey,” said Bendkhale on his new role

  • Madhav Sheth elevated to lead realme brand expansion in Latin America

    Madhav Sheth elevated to lead realme brand expansion in Latin America

    Mumbai: Chinese smartphone brand realme has elevated its vice president (VP) and India and Europe CEO Madhav Sheth to spearhead the company’s business operations in the Latin America region.

    Under the new designation of realme VP and India, Europe and Latin America CEO, Sheth will lead the product, marketing, brand-building, and sales functions in these regions, the company said in a statement on Thursday.

    In Mexico and Brazil, realme will prioritise product development, which is always a top priority for the company and will aim towards building a strong local workforce in the Latin American region. In addition, realme will optimise its market and channel strategies in Mexico and Brazil.

    “Under Sheth’s stewardship, realme has ascended to the top five vendors in Europe in Q2 2021 as per Strategy Analytics, and the company plans to do the same in Mexico and Brazil next year,” the brand said.

    According to a report by Counterpoint Research, realme now ranks among the top six smartphone brands globally. It is the fastest brand ever to reach 100 million shipments in the history of the global smartphone market, as per Strategy Analytics. The brand ranks among the top five smartphone makers in 18 markets in Q2 2021, as per Canalys.

    “The foray into a new and promising market reflects realme’s vision to bring trendsetting technology and leapfrogging performance to the consumers in the region, enabling it to achieve its ambition of gaining dual 100 million users by 2023 and build its way to a leading tech brand,” realme said.

  • Amish Sabharwal named senior ECD of Havas Creative Group India

    Amish Sabharwal named senior ECD of Havas Creative Group India

    Mumbai: Havas Creative Group India on Tuesday announced the appointment of Amish Sabharwal as senior executive creative director and creative head of digital experience, effective immediately. He will be based in Gurgaon and will report to Havas Creative Group India national creative director Ravinder Siwach.

    In his new role, Sabharwal will lead the Havas integrated creative digital team with a renewed focus on the digital-first agenda of Reckitt. In addition, he will manage the mandates of many other key brands and clients. He will work closely with the teams to further build integrated strategies and marketing campaigns, which reflects the global vision of creating Meaningful Brands, the agency said in a statement. 

    With over 13 years of work experience, Sabharwal has several national and international awards to his name. He has worked with some of the leading agencies such as JWT, McCann, Dentsu Impact and Grey, during his career. He brings a rare combination of traditional brand-building skills with native digital thinking as he has led both digital and traditional offerings in his previous stint at Grey Delhi.

    “Amish brings with him a vast experience of some of the most well-known brands and categories. I believe his unique approach will bring in a breath of fresh air to the creative landscape and fuel our promise of meaningful storytelling further,” said Havas Group India chairman & chief creative officer Bobby Pawar.

    Havas Creative Group India national creative director Ravinder Siwach added, “It’s been our constant endeavour to offer differentiated and engaging storytelling for our clients. Amish will add more muscle to this vision with his varied background.”

    “I am excited to start new innings with Havas Creative Group India. With Bobby Pawar and Rana Barua at the helm, hunger is evident in the agency’s culture,” said Sabharwal on his appointment. “My role is to build on the sterling legacy these guys have established and make brand Havas an even bigger name to reckon with.”

  • UdChalo appoints Abani Kant Jha as CFO

    UdChalo appoints Abani Kant Jha as CFO

    Mumbai: udChalo, a consumer tech company focusing on Indian defence personnel and their dependents, has announced the appointment of Abani Kant Jha as chief financial officer.

    In his role, Jha will contribute to strategy formulation in alignment with the organisation’s long-term objectives and goals, planning and management of company resources to maximise ROI, identifying cost-saving projects and leading the treasury of the organisation for effective deployment of funds, said the company in a statement.

    He will lead a team of tax experts, consultants, and the finance team at udChalo and play a key role in bringing investments for the next growth phase of the organisation, it added.

    Welcoming Jha on board, udChalo CEO Ravi Kumar said, “We are confident that his expertise in global finance will benefit us to have better financial operations, identify risks, and setting up processes to mitigate them.”

    Jha comes with 25 years of industry experience. In his most recent role, he was with Jindal Flims as director of business operations & CFO. He was previously associated with companies like EaseMyTrip, Aditya Birla Group, Koutons, DP World and Reliance Industries, where he held significant roles and handled global positions at leadership levels. 

    On his appointment, Jha stated, “I believe udChalo has a great business model and talented management team that uniquely positions it to capitalise on the changing environment. I look forward to working with the team.”

  • Leverage Edu onboards Zee’s Ambesh Tiwari as CMO

    Leverage Edu onboards Zee’s Ambesh Tiwari as CMO

    Mumbai: Study abroad platform Leverage Edu has brought on board Ambesh Tiwari as chief marketing officer. In this new role, Tiwari will lead marketing, branding, growth, and institutional sales for the company.

    The development comes when leverage Edu is rolling out aggressive expansion plans and strengthening its foothold in the global market, primarily the UK and Europe. “We are very confident that Tiwari will lead Leverage Edu and successfully establish our place both nationally and internationally in the growing ed-tech ecosystem,” said Leverage Edu founder and CEO Akshay Chaturvedi on the new appointment. 
    Prior to joining Leverage Edu, Tiwari was associated with Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) where he was director-digital alliances and partnerships. At ZEEL, he was also part of the office of the president- content and international markets, and executive assistant to chief executive officer, domestic broadcast business.

    Previously, Tiwari worked with Viacom18 Media where he led the consumer research for the corporate strategy team. His other stints include companies like Star India and Quizcraft Events.

    “I am excited to join Leverage Edu and share my efforts to create widespread brand awareness while pushing for a very strong growth agenda,” Tiwari said. “Having followed the growth trajectory of Leverage Edu since its inception, I was familiar with the organisation and was impressed with its culture, diversity, people, and especially its entrepreneurial mindset.”

  • Dentsu India promotes Rahul Vengalil to Managing Partner, Isobar

    Dentsu India promotes Rahul Vengalil to Managing Partner, Isobar

    New Delhi: Isobar, the creative experience agency from dentsu India has promoted Rahul Vengalil to the role of managing partner.

    Vengalil will report into Isobar India group CEO Heeru Dingra and will be responsible for building the business with creative & experience as the key focus for future growth.

    Rahul’s digital expertise cuts across capabilities in business transformation, strategy, branding, experience, and innovation. Erstwhile, chief business officer (CBO), he has played an active role in driving the Isobar India growth story to newer heights and has added significant brands to the agency’s client roster, augmenting Isobar’s creative line of business exponentially, said the agency on Monday.

    His first stint with Isobar India was in the year 2011 when he joined the agency as senior group head, and expanded the agency’s footprint across India, and set up Isobar’s first South branch in Bangalore. He moved on from Isobar at the start of 2017 to launch his own Audit & Digital transformation company – What Clicks and returned to the agency in 2020.

    Speaking on the appointment, Isobar India group CEO Heeru Dingra said, “The solutions we offer are led by talents who possess extraordinary skillsets. Rahul is one of our finest resources with key domain expertise and with the thrill to set up new standards each time. His strategic-led, client-centric approach is in sync with our offerings. We are certain that he will accelerate Isobar’s growth trajectory for India.”

    Commenting on his elevation, Vengalil added, “I am extremely excited to begin this fresh chapter at Isobar India. My experience with Isobar has transformed my journey; and now is the time to set up new benchmarks. We have an awesome team of innovative and creative folks who are aligned with Isobar’s global vision of transforming into the most creative experience agency, worldwide. With our ‘Invent Make Change’ agenda, we are committed to being instrumental in creating an experience economy within India.”

  • Umang Puri rejoins FoxyMoron as creative director

    Umang Puri rejoins FoxyMoron as creative director

    Mumbai: Zoo Media network-backed digital services agency FoxyMoron has appointed Umang Puri as creative director of the North region. He will be reporting to national creative director Dhruv Warrior.

    Puri has rejoined FoxyMoron from Digitas India, where he served as creative director. During his first stint at FoxyMoron, he was a creative manager.

    “Umang is an ideas guy who has a detailed approach to his work. It perfectly complements his in-depth knowledge of the digital world. The combination is vital to elevating creative output for FoxyMoron, which is a key area of focus when delivering innovative digital solutions to our clients,” said Dhruv Warrior, welcoming Puri on board.

    In this role at FoxyMoron, Puri will be leading the creative operations for the agency’s North clientele and work with agencies across the Zoo Media network, said the agency.

    Puri has over seven years of experience in digital advertising, having worked with marquee brands like Nissan, Datsun, Motorola, and many others in B2B, beauty, and fashion industries. His campaigns have won multiple awards on platforms like the Abby’s, WARC, Spike Asia, and Effies. In 2019 he was also shortlisted as a ‘Young Spike’ at the Spike Asia Awards.

    “As I begin my second stint here, our focus is to navigate the agency into a bigger creative powerhouse by enabling and empowering young talent to become multi-faceted creators. I’m excited to be a part of this journey,” said Puri.