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Category: People

  • Dentsu Aegis Network expands Anand Bhadkamkar’s role to CFO & COO South Asia

    Dentsu Aegis Network expands Anand Bhadkamkar’s role to CFO & COO South Asia

    MUMBAI: Following Dentsu Aegis Network’s (DAN) announcement to promote Ashish Bhasin to the expanded role of CEO greater south, Dentsu Aegis Network and chairman & CEO India, the global media and marketing communications conglomerate has now entrusted Dentsu Aegis Network – South Asia CFO Anand Bhadkamkar with the additional charge of chief operating officer India.

    With this announcement, Anand will now also be responsible for driving operational excellence in business and oversee support functions including HR and IT in India.  He will continue to report to Ashish Bhasin.

    Commenting on the appointment, Bhasin said, “Anand is exceptionally dependable, comes with strong leadership capabilities and has a very strong understanding of our markets, clients and services. Dentsu Aegis Network India is currently standing amid enormous market opportunities and with my expanded role and new geographies to look after, it was imperative for Anand to take up the operational responsibilities. Anand has always been integral to DAN operations and, in some ways, this is a formalisation of this duty. I strongly believe that Anand will successfully implement and integrate our strategies to take this growth forward.”  

    Commenting on his new role, Bhadkamkar said, “I am extremely excited and honoured to take on this additional responsibility. I look forward to embarking upon a new chapter in my career, having been part of the company’s journey over the past 10 years now. Dentsu Aegis Network India is very well positioned in today’s digital and transformational environment. I look forward to supporting the Group in its next growth phase and continue driving operational excellence across the organisation in South Asia.”

  • Dentsu Aegis Network India strengthens creative structure

    Dentsu Aegis Network India strengthens creative structure

    MUMBAI: Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN) India has announced an enhancement in its creative structure. Taproot Dentsu chief creative officer and co-founder Agnello Dias (Aggi) will now take on the additional responsibility of Dentsu Aegis Network India creative chairman. In his new role, Dias will now also guide and mentor the creative output of all DAN India companies even as he continues his services with Taproot Dentsu.

    Taproot Dentsu CCO, co-founder and DAN India creative chairman Agnello Dias said, “Taproot Dentsu is now a robust, full-fledged agency, based in two cities and run by a team of capable and talented professionals. In fact, this is the team that has been at the forefront of everything the agency has done for some time now. With the structure now in place and Paddy (Santosh Padhi) leading the way with the rest of the team, it was felt that I could stretch myself to also work with the other hungry and talented teams across the DAN network in India. It is an exciting part of my life’s journey and I hope it’s fruitful for all.”

    Speaking on Agnello’s enhanced role Dentsu Aegis Network CEO greater south and chairman, CEO India Ashish Bhasin said, “It is really delightful to add on an additional responsibility of Creative Chairman DAN India to Aggi. The entire creative community in India looks up to Aggi for his tremendous achievements. His mentoring of creative talent across all DAN India agencies will make DAN India an unbeatable creative powerhouse. I am really glad that Aggie has agreed to stretch himself and share his unparalleled talent across the group. I look forward to him chairing the DAN India Creative Council.”

    Dias, previously the national chief creative officer for JWT India, has been with Taproot Dentsu, the agency he co-founded, for 10 years now. Today, the agency has a robust structure with Santosh Padhi (CCO & co-founder), Umesh Shrikhande (CEO), Pallavi Chakravarti (ECD), Ayesha Ghosh (general manager) and Shashank Lanjekar (head of strategy) in Mumbai and Harjot Narang (general manager), Titus Upputuru (ECD) and Anand Murty (head of strategy) in Delhi, leading their teams across a diverse portfolio of national and local brands.

  • Dentsu India appoints Malvika Mehra as chief creative officer

    Dentsu India appoints Malvika Mehra as chief creative officer

    MUMBAI: Dentsu India – the holistic brand solutions agency from the house of Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN), has roped in Malvika Mehra, erstwhile founder and creative director of Tomorrow Creative Lab, as chief creative officer. As part of the mandate, Mehra will now be responsible for the agency’s creative duties across all offices. Dentsu India will also launch Dentsu India Tomorrow Lab – the new design and innovation unit, under her creative leadership.

    More than two decades of successfully partnering clients in building famous brands across two advertising agencies (Ogilvy and Grey), and her own independent venture, Tomorrow, has earned Malvika a prominent name in the industry.  Some of her more famous brand work has been on ITC Foods’ Bingo!, Vodafone, State Bank of India, Gillette, Reliance Telecom, Dell, Fiat, Honda, Duracell, and the Indian Army.

    As an entrepreneur, under the Tomorrow brand, Malvika has handled brand strategy, design and communication for the artificial intelligence and data analytics company, Fractal Analytics Inc, Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Ashiana Housing, NDTV, Arvind Group, Hotstar, Oyo Rooms, Awfis Co-working Spaces, Streamcast Technologies, Vivaana Hospitality, and Generico Chemists amongst others.

    A two-time Cannes Gold Lion and D&AD pencil winner, Malvika has served jury duty across categories like film, print and design at international advertising and design festivals like Cannes, Clio and Spikes Asia.

    Speaking on the new appointment, Dentsu India CEO Simi Sabhaney said, “I am delighted to welcome Malvika to the Dentsu family. I have worked with her in the past, and I must say it was a rather fruitful experience. I respect Malvika for her fine design thinking ability, entrepreneurial spirit and her hunger to create great work that works.”

    Malvika Mehra said, “Change is the only constant. Anyone worth his or her salt interested in creating game changing brands of the future, needs to be agile and learn to adapt, quickly. Joining Dentsu India as CCO, has been the most interesting pivot in my entrepreneurial journey. With the backing of the robust, truly collaborative DAN network and teams and a solid, go-getter business partner in Simi, I get to play that fancy word, intrapreneur for real. And continue to place the brand, at the golden intersection of ideas (of course), but also design and technology, for all our amazing clients.”

  • Himanshu Bakshi appointed as Danone India MD

    Himanshu Bakshi appointed as Danone India MD

    MUMBAI: Nutricia International (Danone India) has elevated Himanshi Bakshi as managing director of India operations. He will resume his duties in the new role from 1 April 2019. In his new role, Bakshi will be responsible for steering the company into its next phase of growth, as a leading nutrition company.

    Bakshi had joined Danone as marketing director in 2013 with more than 19 years of marketing and sales experience.

    Commenting on the new role, Danone India managing director Himanshu Bakshi said, "I am grateful for the expansion in my responsibilities and look forward to lead the enthusiastic and dynamic team at Danone in the next phase of transformation as we establish ourselves in India as a leading Nutrition company responding to local needs. Danone has a unique vision of bringing health through food to consumers, and I am excited to deliver this promise to consumers through our unique portfolio of Indian and global products".

    Himanshu began his career with Dabur and moved to Pepsi. He started his brand marketing journey with Reckitt Benckiser responsible for marketing of brands like Lizol and Dettol followed by Danone where he handled various responsibilities in marketing and sales.

  • Manoti Jain to be only Indian woman at Cannes Lions 2019 ‘See It Be It’ programme

    Manoti Jain to be only Indian woman at Cannes Lions 2019 ‘See It Be It’ programme

    MUMBAI: Supari Studios chief operating officer Manoti Jain , is the only Indian to be selected for the Cannes Lions 2019 ‘See It Be It’ programme.  15 women from across the globe were chosen for the programme this year, all of whom will benefit from a curated learning experience at the Cannes Lions festival.

    Jain and the 14 other women were selected from over 760 global applicants across the globe. The programme supports the next generation of female creative directors and takes an active role in shaping the industry to become more representative of the world we live in.

    At the age of 22, Jain, along with co-founders Advait and Akshat Gupt set up Supari Studios in late 2012, after sensing a gap in the country’s digital media landscape. Since then she has helped the company grow into one of the leading content studios in India, winning international awards and building a global audience for brands such as Red Bull, Estee Lauder, Google and Twitter. She strives to create content at the intersection of film, design and technology that is empowering and relevant to audiences.

    Through its ‘See It Be It’ initiative, launched in 2014, Cannes Lions has fully funded over 70 women to attend the festival, providing them with an exclusive learning opportunity and exposure to the global creative community.

    Speaking on the selection, Jain says, “I am extremely honoured and fortunate to share the See It Be It platform with this cohort of resilient and diverse creative minds, at what promises to be a unique week of learning. I hope to bring back lots of learnings and experiences from the programme to both my company and my country in the most effective way possible, by approaching content through a more sensitive, impactful and empowering lens. Attending the festival is an exciting prospect in itself, and I am all geared up to embrace what awaits me at Cannes this year.”

    Supari Studios' Advait Gupt says, “We are absolutely thrilled that Manoti has been selected for the See It Be It programme this year. She has been instrumental in our journey as a content studio from day one. We’re extremely proud that she has been given the opportunity to represent not only the Supari Studios family, but also the many talented, creative women from India at this global platform. We can’t wait for her return to inspire us with her learnings, experiences and stories.”

  • Lenskart ropes in Bhuvan Bam as brand ambassador

    Lenskart ropes in Bhuvan Bam as brand ambassador

    MUMBAI: Eyewear retailer Lenskart has signed YouTube star Bhuvan Bam as its new brand ambassador. The decision was taken keeping in mind that Bhuvan’s digital content appeals to the youth and aligns with their brand image.

    As unveiled by Lenskart, Bam will be part of multiple campaigns and will also be producing exclusive content for them. He also recently launched the new store for Lenskart in Ambience Mall, Gurugram.

    Commenting on why Bhuvan as brand ambassador for Lenskart, Lenskart.com founder and CEO Peyush Bansal opined, “Bhuvan is a youth icon and he appeals to the audience we’re looking at targeting. Lenskart believes in challenging the status-quo whether it’s in the kind of products or the services it offers the customers. Bhuvan himself is a game changer in his own line of work and that is why we think it’s the perfect association. We’re looking forward to working and creating fun campaigns with him.”

    Taking on the new role as ambassador Bam expressed, “I have always loved Lenskart and their collection because as a content creator for BB Ki Vines, I strive to create characters with distinct traits and quirks and glasses help me a lot with that. Like for Banchod Das, the character wears these shield black frames. Lenskart has been my one stop shop for all my eyewear requirements and I’m really excited to be a part of the Lenskart family because it also aligns with my mantra and that is having fun with what you do.”

    Part of the Lenskart app’s interface is a special section called #BBkeFrames that consists of a collection of frames inspired by Bhuvan’s personal style, handpicked by him. This feature is also available on the M-site, website as well as in stores. The collection includes metal frames in trendy shapes namely the pilot-style, rounds, and hexagons across John Jacobs and Vincent Chase. Lenskart customers can shop these across stores as well as online under the “BB Ke Frames” category. 

  • Havas Creative strengthens Mumbai team with two senior hires

    Havas Creative strengthens Mumbai team with two senior hires

    MUMBAI: Havas Creative has further bolstered its creative offering with two senior hires in its Mumbai office.  Gururaj Rao has joined as executive creative director and Durgesh Singh as associate creative director – copy. Both Gururaj and Durgesh will report to Havas Creative national creative director Mayur Hola. The duo will aim to foster creativity at the heart of everything, in line with the Group’s integrated approach manifested in the ‘Havas Village’ model.

    Having worked across agencies like Publicis, Ogilvy, JWT and DDB Mudra, Rao has nearly 13 years of experience in advertising. Prior to Havas, he was working with an Indie creative shop Tiqui-Taka.  He has worked on brands like Nerolac Paints, Sony Sports, Urban Clap, Dr. Fixit, Fevicol, Skoda, Cadbury 5 Star, Havmor Ice-cream, Volkswagen and HDFC Mutual Fund. Moreover, his work has been recognised at both national and international awards like the Clio Awards, Young Guns, Effies and Abbys. He has been nominated by the Ad Club Bombay for the ‘Young Achievers Award’ as well as being ranked 35th in the Young Guns Global Young Creatives Ranking in 2008.

    Singh carries with him eight years of extensive experience in the field of content generation and creative writing with agencies like DDB Mudra and Publicis India. He has worked across brands like HDFC, Skoda, Zee, and Nerolac.

    Commenting on the appointments, Mayur Hola said, “Guru brings an infectious energy that Bobby and I are sure will light up the Havas Mumbai office and give it purpose. His interaction with people is at a granular level and he’s just a straight up solid guy who puts his head down and gets work done. We’re very happy to have a kindred spirit such as him on-board. Durgesh is a bright spark. His ideas are just what we need as we add creative muscle to the Mumbai office. We’re sure that Durgesh and Guru will create a powerful alliance and work with the rest as part of a great team.”

    “I am really looking forward to being part of this exciting new team and working with Bobby Pawar and Mayur Hola and their vision of a refreshed creative proposition for Havas Group India,” said Rao.

    “I feel I've come to Havas at a very interesting time. Havas Group’s integrated operating model and Vivendi (an entertainment powerhouse) parentage creates a world of opportunities. I am excited to be a part of the team and look forward to doing some amazing work,” said Singh.

  • Tanuja Bhat re-joins L&K Saatchi & Saatchi as group executive creative director

    Tanuja Bhat re-joins L&K Saatchi & Saatchi as group executive creative director

    MUMBAI: Tanuja Bhat has re-joined L&K Saatchi & Saatchi as the Group Executive Creative Director. This will be her second stint at the company, having previously worked at L&K for 2 years. She moves from Network Advertising, Mumbai.

    Her portfolio includes integrated campaigns for brands like Margo, Henko, L’Oreal, Maybelline Garnier, Rin, Dabur, DTC, Sunsilk, Complan, McDonald's, Mahindra LifeSpaces, Vijay Sales, Hindalco, Cigna TTK, Hamdard, Bridgestone, and HDFC Home Loans.

    L&K Saatchi & Saatchi joint national creative director Kartik Smetacek said, “Tanuja is an experienced hand with stellar work across agencies and clients. I look forward to her bringing her talent and energy to our brand mix.”

    Tanuja Bhat on Joining L&K Saatchi & Saatchi said, “Team L&K Saatchi & Saatchi has always been geared towards purposive brand work and I am glad to be part of it once again.”

    In her years of work experience, she has been associated with JWT, Leo Burnett, and Publicis Capital Mumbai.

  • OMD appoints Pankaj Nayak, Rochelle Chhaya into key leadership team for APAC

    OMD appoints Pankaj Nayak, Rochelle Chhaya into key leadership team for APAC

    MUMBAI: OMD has announced the appointment of two new members into its Asia Pacific team. While Rochelle Chhaya has been appointed as chief operating officer (COO), Pankaj Nayak will be joining as the chief marketing officer (CMO), effective immediately. The decision has been taken to harness the network’s growing momentum and drive further growth across the region.

    Formerly the chief digital officer for Omnicom Media Group APAC, Chhaya brings unrivalled visibility on the client-agency-partner ecosystem. Her comprehensive knowledge and experience will allow her to tackle the operational challenges and opportunities that arise when developing an agency model for the future.

    As COO, she will be responsible towards mapping out what the future client-centric, digitally powered and data-led agency model looks like for OMD.

    Nayak brings over 20 years of industry knowledge and experience to this role, having previously served in a client leadership capacity with the network and most recently, as Omnicom Media Group APAC’s business development director.

    As CMO, Nayak will be tasked with continuously enhancing the network’s approach in engaging both new clients and existing ones. This will involve developing a strategy for the seamless manifestation of the network’s new brand promise of Better Decisions, Faster throughout the client relationship, ensuring a consistent telling of the OMD story across clients and markets.

    Commenting on the appointments, OMD APAC CEO Stephen Li said, “As we return to the top of the charts and scale even greater heights, both globally and in APAC, it is imperative that we have the right leadership in place to ensure our agencies and clients continue to maximise their potential.”

    “Given her impressive track-record in delivering market-leading digital solutions, Rochelle has earned the trust and respect of our clients and partners over the years. She has also become a well-respected voice in the industry. There is no one with as strong a 360 overview of our business as her, which will be extremely valuable in developing OMD’s agency model for the future,” Li continues.

    “Throughout his tenure with both the network and the Group, Pankaj has come to know the organisation inside and out, developed significant relationships internally and externally, and has touched on the development and growth of every single market in the region. He is perfectly suited for the CMO role and I have every confidence that OMD will continue to elevate its new business momentum under his leadership.”

  • Adidas extends contract with Rohit Sharma

    Adidas extends contract with Rohit Sharma

    MUMBAI: Global sportswear brand Adidas has announced the extension of its contract with ambassador and Indian batsman Rohit Sharma. The cricketer has been associated with the brand since 2013.

    The Indian opener, who recently became the third fastest batsman along with former skipper Sourav Ganguly to have completed 8,000 runs in ODI cricket, mentioned that he is looking forward to the association saying, “I feel Adidas is the best brand for athletes I truly believe in their products and the comfort and benefit they offer me in my sport. Further, they have continuously stepped in to provide customized solutions to athletes, including me, thereby helping us overcome many injuries.”

    He continued, “It is the leading sports brand and has played a key role in promoting sports at grassroots, which includes providing world-class platforms and experiences accessible to amateurs and pro-athletes. I look forward to our association going from strength to strength.”

    Adidas already has on board sprinter Hima Das, hockey player Manpreet Singh and heptathlete Swapna Barman.