ITV

Category: People

  • McCann Worldgroup realigns global leadership

    McCann Worldgroup realigns global leadership

    NEW DELHI: McCann Worldgroup has realigned its senior leadership across its global agency networks. Chris Macdonald has taken on the role of chairman and CEO of McCann, the advertising agency brand, and Harjot Singh has been promoted to global chief strategy officer. 

    Macdonald, who previously served as president – advertising and allied brands for McCann, will now focus on leading the advertising network, along with Singh, previously chief strategy officer for McCann Worldgroup EMEA. Since its first major international expansion over 90 years ago, McCann has been recognised as a leader in global advertising.

    The two global appointments follow other recent moves by incoming McCann Worldgroup CEO Bill Kolb to underline the importance of the individual agency brands in the global integrated marketing services network.

    "The foundation of McCann Worldgroup, since its inception over 20 years ago, has always been to offer both best-in-class expertise through each agency and best-in-class integrated solutions to meet our clients' needs," Kolb said. "The work, the talent, and most critically, the creative effectiveness that we have been recognised for—more than any other network over the last five years—must flourish within each of our agency brands. And each of these brands has its own unique culture while all sharing the same McCann Worldgroup core mission, values, and methodologies."

    Macdonald said, "I have been lucky enough to work for McCann in many different roles over the last 15 years. McCann has an incredibly rich history of creativity and innovation, partnering with some of the world's biggest and best brands and is full of fantastically talented people. I look forward to building the best future for our clients, partners and all our people around the world."

    McCann Worldgroup global president & CSO Suzanne Powers said, "Harjot is one of the world's best and brightest. His strategic chops, deep passion for bringing out the best in our talented teams, and overall leadership abilities make him the perfect choice to lead McCann into the future strategically. Further, through this appointment, we now have in place the industry's top leadership across all of our agency networks, further cementing our belief that the triumvirate of leadership (creative, strategy and business) leads to best-in-class creative effective work." 

    Macdonald added, "Colleagues and clients consistently credit him with bringing clarity and delivering measurable impact. He has led our network in Europe to an unprecedented industry record of being ranked the most creatively effective agency network in the region for five consecutive years and I am delighted that he will be bringing that track record of success to the global McCann team."

    In addition to the current promotions of  Macdonald and  Singh, Kolb announced that Kate MacNevin, the CEO for MRM, will add the title of chairwoman. 

    "Kate has one of the most passionate, deliberative and exceptional minds in all of marketing," remarked Kolb. "She is respected not just among our partners, but across every level of our organisation because of her relentless dedication and determination. I have worked with Kate for over a decade, and she has earned this role based on her historic success of advancing growth, capability expansion and overall leadership of our global MRM team."

  • Network Advertising appoints Pooja Nair as VP – strategic planning

    Network Advertising appoints Pooja Nair as VP – strategic planning

    NEW DELHI: Network Advertising has strengthened its account planning division with the inclusion of Pooja Nair as VP – strategic planning. Nair comes with an experience of over 16 years and has worked in agencies like Ogilvy, JWT, Publicis, Saatchi (Colombo), Percept, and TBWA. She has considerable experience in handling cross-category brands like Huggies, Ponds, Bosch, Nutrela, Garnier, Godrej, Head & Shoulders, Oil of Olay, Electrolux, Allen Solly, Standard Chartered Bank, and many more.

    Network Advertising chief strategy officer Sunit Khot said, “We are glad to have Pooja on board the Network team. Her cross-category experience coupled with her natural curiosity will be invaluable to us in strengthening our integrated offering that is based on a strong strategic foundation.”

    Nair said, “What attracted me to Network is their philosophy of integrating Strategic Planning across all their functions, which essentially makes every Networker a thinker. I am looking forward to my role to enhance this already strong thinking culture within Network. The exciting cross-category roster of clients and the agency’s integrated offering makes it a dream for any strategic planner.”

    Network Advertising MD Vinod Nair said, “An integrated agency like Network needs to consistently over-deliver in the thinking area to bring alive our commitment to the brands we work on. Pooja is a welcome addition to the Network family and another brain to keep working on our mission of doing right by the clients we handle.”

  • Havas Group India announces senior management elevations

    Havas Group India announces senior management elevations

    Mumbai: Havas Group India has announced key elevations in its senior management team for Havas Media and Havas Creative. The elevations come as part of the group's overall growth strategy of identifying and acknowledging talent and leaders who have played a crucial role in the growth of the company.

    Erstwhile Havas Media managing partner — north and west Uday Mohan has been promoted to president — north and west. 

    Mohan has been with Havas Media for the last 13 years. He has been instrumental in building the Gurgaon operations of Havas Media Group into one of the largest operations in NCR. In spite a very difficult 2020, he was able to grow both the Gurgaon and Mumbai operations with key client acquisitions like ACC Cement, and most recently the esteemed Domino’s Pizza win.

    Havas Media national head buying R Venkatasabubramanian will now be president and national head investments. 

    Venkat has been associated with Havas Media Group for the last two years. He has been able to put Havas Media Group among the top media buyers in the country and built a very strong investment team across markets.

    Havas Creative managing partner – north Manas Lahiri has been elevated to president – north. 

    Lahiri has been with Havas for over two years and has astutely managed the turnaround of the Gurgaon Creative Operations in one of the most demanding and challenging markets. From stabilising the biggest relationship with Reckitt Benckiser which includes brands like Durex, Vanish, Harpic, Mortein, Veet to acquiring new clients like William Grant & Sons, Suzuki, Fortis, Norton, Hike, and finally Dabur Honey and many others, he has delivered exceptional results.

    Mohan and R Venkat will continue to report to Havas Media Group India CEO Mohit Joshi, and Lahiri will continue to report to  Havas Group India group CEO Rana Barua.  

    Rana Barua said “ I am excited to announce well deserved key elevations from our Havas Group Senior Leadership team, that will further accelerate growth and enhance the value proposition of our organisation and take the agency to greater heights. 2020 has been a challenging yet very satisfactory year for the agency in terms of clients, revenue, awards, and fame. I look forward to Uday, Manas and Venkat to soar higher and take us to even greater achievements and targets.” 

  • BharatPe appoints Sumeet Singh as general counsel & head – corporate strategy

    BharatPe appoints Sumeet Singh as general counsel & head – corporate strategy

    MUMBAI: BharatPe has onboarded Sumeet Singh as the general counsel and head – corporate strategy. The appointment will further bolster the leadership team at BharatPe, which currently is a mix of renowned professionals across industries.

    Singh is a seasoned legal professional with 10+ years of experience across leading law firms including AZB& Partners, DSK Legal and Amarchand Mangaldas. He brings deep understanding of legal, compliance, regulatory and structuring aspects of multiple sectors including non-banking financial, retail, e-commerce, FMCG, digital media and technology.

    Singh, who is expected to join BharatPe soon, is currently a partner at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, New Delhi, having joined the erstwhile Amarchand Mangaldas Suresh A. Shroff in 2013 from AZB. He has actively represented some of India’s biggest e-commerce, retail entities, financial companies and start-ups. Recently, he was part of the core team advising Reliance Retail Ventures in its acquisition of the entire retail, wholesale, logistics and warehousing business of Kishore Biyani's Future Group. He has also been advising Norwest Venture Partners (a US$ 9 billion investment fund) in all their recent investments in India including in Xpressbess, OFB Tech, Ess Kay Fin Corp, Veritas Finance etc. He has been an advisor to Grofers since its early days leading their fundraising work.

    Additionally, Singh represented Indiamart on its pre-IPO fund raising. His other marquee representations include clients like Nestle, IFC, Inshorts, IDFC Alternatives Ltd (now Global Infrastructure Partners), Qatar based Q Invest, Raine Group and NewsCorp.

    BharatPe co-founder and CEO Ashneer Grover said, “2020 has been an exciting and solid growth year for BharatPe. As we get ready to welcome 2021, I would like to welcome Sumeet to the team. Sumeet will be the first partner at a major law firm to join a start-up. I’ve known Sumeet professionally and personally for five years and there is no one better to steer BharatPe on its goal to be India’s first true digital bank. He will be responsible for corporate strategy, compliance, licensing, equity and debt deals, ESOP schemes, cap table management and preparation for eventual listing.”

    Singh added, “I am excited to join Ashneer and his solid team of CXOs as they build out a truly differentiated and capital efficient fintech at BharatPe. The way BharatPe has broken away from the fintech crowd to create a solid business, bodes well for the future and I am honoured to contribute to this amazing growth.”

  • Dentsu names Prerna Mehrotra as APAC media CEO

    Dentsu names Prerna Mehrotra as APAC media CEO

    NEW DELHI: dentsu International APAC has named Prerna Mehrotra as its new CEO for APAC Media. She will take on the additional responsibility along with her role as the managing director of the media group in Singapore. 

    Mehrotra will be reporting to dentsu APAC CEO Ashish Bhasin and global CEO – media & global clients Peter Hujiboom. She will be responsible for driving dentsu’s global media strategy and delivery in the APAC region. Her focus will be on developing a portfolio of tools and capabilities to maximise effectiveness, relevance, and performance of the campaigns.  

    Mehrotra joined DAN back in 2016 as Amplify APAC head of investment management. She was also the client president at Carat. Previously, she has worked with Starcom and Zenith. 

  • RepIndia names Archit Chenoy its new CEO

    RepIndia names Archit Chenoy its new CEO

    NEW DELHI: Integrated digital agency RepIndia had tapped Archit Chenoy as its new CEO. He is currently serving as the MD and will take over the new role on 4 January 2021. Prior to RepIndia, Archit has been associated in key, strategic roles in organisations such as GTI, Capital India Advisors, Ernst & Young and Standard Chartered Bank.

    For the last 7 years, he has played a crucial role in building RepIndia across geographies in Delhi and Mumbai. In his new role, Archit will be entrusted with a different set of responsibilities, taking the reins from Ayesha Chenoy, who founded the company in 2013, to build an institution that strives to add value to people's lives.  

    Hailing from an investment analyst background, Archit has proven his ability to take the firm a notch higher, through his tenure at RepIndia.  

    RepIndia founder Ayesha Chenoy said, “I  never handed over the reins, for Archit took them in his gentle capable hands, with the  grace that is so telling of a great leader. Archit has steered us through 2020, and I will continue to work together with him through all the storms we face together, with a team that is more family than colleagues.” 

    Archit Chenoy said, “It is my greatest honour to step into this role. We have meticulously built, brick by brick, the greatest culture here at RepIndia with the broadest capabilities — enabling us to grow steadily but with stability. Building further on our success is a challenge I frankly look forward to. I am passionate about placing our clients and our people at the centre of everything we do and continue to drive RepIndia’s momentum. The bar set by Ayesha is high no doubt, and filling her shoes will be no easy feat, yet it is one I accept with confidence, determination and ambition and I cannot thank her and our team enough for the faith they have placed in me.” 

    Archit joined as a MD for RepIndia in 2013 and since then he has been dynamic in accelerating the revolution of the company to focus on digital cloud and the immense growth of the company’s direct business. He has been an integral part of award-winning work for marquee brands such as Adani Group, Viacom18, Tata Trusts, JSW Group, Canon and Galderma, amongst others. Under his leadership, RepIndia has grown exponentially and continues to expand in spite of the business year  we’ve together witnessed in 2020.  

  • Future Lifestyle Fashion’s CFO Saurabh Bhudolia resigns

    Future Lifestyle Fashion’s CFO Saurabh Bhudolia resigns

    New Delhi: Saurabh Bhudolia has resigned from his position as chief financial officer and key management person of Future Lifestyle Fashion. He took on this role in May 2020.

    The company informed about the development to the BSE in a listing.

    He has been associated with the brand since 2016 where he was spearheading the finance and accounts segment since 2016.

    Bhudolia has over 13 years of industry experience and has worked across multiple brands such as Tata Steel, Cadbury, Sula Vineyards and Future Lifestyle Fashions.

  • Crayons president Ranjan Bargotra decides to move on

    Crayons president Ranjan Bargotra decides to move on

    NEW DELHI: Ranjan Bargotra has stepped down as president of The Crayons Network after heading the agency for 24 years. He is taking a break after spending 34 years in branding and advertising.

    In the past, Bargotra has worked with Clea Advertising, Image Heads, and Uncle Chips. 

    “During these 24 years journey at Crayons, we did great work and were lucky to cross a lot of milestones and this wouldn’t have been possible without the support I had from Kunal Lalani. I couldn’t have asked for more operational freedom or better team spirit,” said Bargotra.

    On what lies ahead, he added, “Business models, client expectations as well as consumer behaviour have all undergone a sea change in recent years on account of technology and more recently due to the pandemic. This changed scenario presents a lot of new opportunities and will see the emergence of many new start-ups and I am looking at extending my support to a couple of such young entrepreneurs.”

    The Crayons Network CMD Kunal Lalani said, “It has been an amazing long journey with Ranjan and his departure would leave a void. Ranjan played a key role in making Crayons a name to reckon with in the industry. He is a people’s person and has built great relationships within the agency as well as with clients and associates alike. We will miss him and our best wishes will always be with him.”

  • Wondrlab appoints Sandesh Shetty as lead integration director – west, experience platform

    Wondrlab appoints Sandesh Shetty as lead integration director – west, experience platform

    NEW DELHI: Platform-first martech startup Wondrlab has appointed Sandesh Shetty as lead integration director – west, experience platform. He will report to Wondrlab co-founder and managing partner – experience platform Vandana Verma. 

    In his new mandate, Shetty will infuse new-age thinking with conventional mediums of experiential marketing, helping clients in India’s western regions win in these spaces.

    Verma said, “Our recent acquisition of What’s Your Problem and our new operations in NCR are testimony to our growth and momentum. Bringing in experienced talent like Sandesh to support this unprecedented pace is the natural next step. His ability to understand offline experiential touchpoints and leveraging technology helps nudge products off the shelf for clients. Sandesh has the unique ability to merge the best of traditional cross-category thinking with contemporary platform-first experiential solutions. With his appointment, clients can leverage his stellar experience and expect a deep commitment toward solving their business problems.”

    Shetty has over two decades of robust experience in activation, experiential marketing and strategy. He has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to different experiential marketing touchpoints. His last stint was as senior vice president – experiential at Arc Worldwide, Publicis Groupe’s full-service shopper marketing and experiential division. Apart from this, he has held senior roles in agencies such as DDB Mudra, Ogilvy, and Kidstuff Promos. At Wondrlab, Shetty will now help apply martech solutions to the conventional mediums of experiential marketing such as events, activation, rural and shopper.

    Shetty added, “Platformisation is a revolution in the business of experiential marketing. None of the existing players addresses this need-gap to lead brand experiences in the right direction, effectively. My experience and understanding of this space perfectly match Wondrlab’s long-term vision. I look forward to creating innovative, immersive work for brands as I kickstart my exciting journey here.”

  • Pocket Aces creates cocktail anthem for Bacardi NH7 Weekender

    Pocket Aces creates cocktail anthem for Bacardi NH7 Weekender

    MUMBAI: Bringing the thrill of popular music festivals home, Gobble, a lifestyle channel by Pocket Aces, has created a cocktail anthem for Bacardi NH7 Weekender in collaboration with OML Entertainment. The endeavour features independent musician Ambika Nayak and acapella group Instrumen to demonstrate two easy yet delicious cocktail recipes that can be mastered at home using Bacardi Rum.

    The video, which was released ahead of the Bacardi NH7 Weekender on Gobble’s YouTube, Facebook and Instagram pages, saw Ambika Nayak take viewers through quick cocktail preparations – an aam panna mojito, and a piña colada. She was accompanied by acapella artists from the Instrumen group who created the perfect sound using their beatboxing skills and vocals to emulate instruments and unusual beats while also lending their melodious voices to the lyrics. The sound of the track complimented the visuals of the video, bringing out the young and upbeat vibe of the Bacardi NH7 Weekender. Since its release, the foot-tapping video has caught the nerve of netizens.

    Bacardi India and southeast Asia senior brand manager Sameeksha Uniyal said, “For over a decade we’ve been hosting Bacardi NH7 Weekender, that brings alive different music, food and culture experiences for audiences to come together and do what moves them. In this year’s digital avatar, we wanted to leave no stone unturned in getting everyone in the Weekender state of mind. So, we partnered with Gobble for India’s first-ever cocktail anthem, that shows some delicious cocktails to get the party going.”

    Gobble channel manager Sonalika Mehra said, “This year’s Bacardi NH7 Weekender focused on bringing the community together in a virtual world with exceptional performances from indie as well as international artists. This fits well into Gobble’s ethos of being a platform for young talented independent creators to deliver engaging content that is fun, quirky, and relatable to our audience. When we came up with the idea for an acapella cocktail anthem, we were confident that this would work well with Bacardi NH7 Weekender’s positioning, while being able to generate the right buzz among its target audiences. The success of the cocktail anthem is an indication that we are on the right path, and the sky is the limit when it comes to our creative avenues to work with our partner brands.”