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Category: People

  • Prashant N takes over as director – digital trading at Dentsu Aegis Network

    MUMBAI: Prashant N, an ace digital marketing professional with over a decade’s experience in strategic digital marketing, media planning, buying and content marketing, has taken over as the director – digital trading at Dentsu Aegis Network.

    Before joining DAN in Gurgaon, Prashant N was the director – digital media buying for a year at Isobar India – DAN Network, prior to which he was the director – media planning – north region at GroupM Media India.

    Prior to Isobar, Prashant served as the associate director – digital at Maxus before which he was promoted as the senior manager – media planning & buying from the position of account manager at Reprise Media.

    Starting his career as a sales executive at Cyber Media Online, Prashant moved to Neo Ogilvy India as the associate media supervisor before moving to Reprise.

  • Dentsu’s Tom Tromba joins experiential mktg co Factory 360

    MUMBAI: Factory 360, a leading experiential marketing agency in the US, has hired industry veteran Tom Tromba to lead its growing Account Service department. Tromba joins the management team at Factory 360 as EVP of Accounts.

    Tom comes to Factory 360 from Dentsu’s MKTG in NYC where he led the Diageo and RJR business.

    Tom brings over 20 years of Agency account leadership to Factory360, having led integrated Marketing programs for some of the world’s most iconic brands, including Diageo, NFL, MasterCard, and AB-InBev. He spent the past 11 years leading the strategic development as well as Execution of Consumer / Trade Influencer platforms for Diageo and RJ Reynolds.

    As the EVP of Account Services at Factory 360, Tom will be responsible for providing strategic thought leadership across all agency client businesses, while leading the cross-functional agency team in consistently delivering innovative consumer engagement experiences from retail events & promotions to fully integrated, large-scale experiential platforms.

    He brings a passion for the fast-paced events industry and a wealth of marketing experience having worked across multiple disciplines (Experiential, Sports Marketing & Sponsorships, Advertising, Shopper/Trade Marketing) over his career.

    “We are thrilled to have somebody of Tom’s caliber and experience join our growing family and look forward to continued growth with Tom’s vision,” says Factory 360 CEO Michael Fernandez.

  • Omnicom’s Amol Dighe joins Amagi as business head

    MUMBAI: Amagi Media Labs, a global media technology and leading ad-tech company in India, has appointed Amol Dighe as the business head.

    A seasoned media professional, Dighe has worked on all sides of the value chain – client, agency and media owner. His expertise runs across buying, planning, negotiation and strategy; developing business systems with deep strength in analytical, organisational and managerial experience. His mandate with Amagi spans across channel strategy and media buying along with growing and adding new revenue streams targeted at both national and regional advertisers.

    Commenting on the appointment, Amagi Media Labs co-Baskar Subramanian said, “Amagi is geared up for the next level of growth. We have set ourselves a clear goal to expand our channel footprint for providing geo-targeted advertising solutions, scale Amagi MIX e-commerce platform for media planning and buying and create innovative ways to add media efficiencies for large advertisers by ad versioning. Amol is a terrific addition to our management team and I am confident that with his expertise we will be able to grow profitably and build a robust business foundation for future.”

    Prior to joining Amagi, Amol Dighe was the Head of investment for Omnicom Media Group Holdings (OMD) India and led the strategic insight and analysis over the OMD and PHD investment portfolio. Dighe has worked in Jakarta in a leadership role with Mindshare. He has also worked with Unilever in a regional buying and operations role for the Asia Pacific Region. He has also worked with Star TV as vice president – sales strategy, and Group M India.

  • iCubesWire appoints Devinder Sharma

    MUMBAI: iCubesWire, a leading digital marketing solution and concept provider, recently appointed Devinder Sharma as its chief growth officer. He will be responsible for growth across the company’s offices including Gurgaon and Mumbai.

    Sharma earlier worked at Opera Mediaworks as an ad sales director where he was managing the mobile brand sales and revenue in south Asia market. In 2013, he has worked at Vdopia Inc. as the country head, Indonesia, where he was managing the key responsibilities of digital sales. He has also worked with leading companies such as Sify, Buzzintown and Business Standard in the past, where he was responsible for the Ad Sales and Strategy.

    In this role, Sharma will lead new business efforts, cross-network collaboration and company marketing while reporting to CEO, Sahil Chopra. He will work closely with iCubesWire’s existing executive team comprising of Sahil Chopra, Aditya Singh, Sanjeeda Khan and Gauri Awasthi to optimize their product development, business plans and create new revenue streams.

    iCubesWire CEO Sahil Chopra says “Devinder brings to iCubesWire his vast experience in data & technology, digital marketing and strength in negotiations and relationship building, digital sales and mobile advertising. His reputation in the industry as a savvy and collaborative business leader will be a proven asset to iCubesWire. I am confident that adding Devinder to our team will prove to be strategic in taking iCubesWire onto its next phase of growth and innovation.”

    With more than 14 years’ experience in digital marketing across South East Asia in both management and business development positions, Sharma is well placed to drive iCubesWire’s growth in the region.

    Sharma said, “I’m looking forward to build relationships with the type of dynamic clients iCubesWire thrives on. My focus will be to channel the work flow, performance and business while gaining high growth momentum in the market.”

  • Ameer Ismail promoted as GolinOpinion president

    MUMBAI: PR veteran Ameer Ismail has been promoted to President by MullenLowe Lintas Group, effective immediately. He has led the group’s PR firmGolinOpinion (formerly LinOpinion) for over 20 years and built the agency into one of the top players in the PR industry. He was also instrumental in bringing Golin on-board as JV partner in India in 2014. GolinOpinion operates as a part of the marketing services offerings of MullenLowe Lintas Group.

    Ameer continues to report to Vikas Mehta – Group CMO & President, Marketing Services for the group. Announcing this elevation, Vikas said “Ameer is just the right mix of Vintage and Vision. In a time when the practice of PR is more important than ever, but the business of PR is getting highly commoditized; he’s the kind of leader the industry needs. PR is an integral part of our re-bundled offering and GolinOpinion occupies a great position in the market today. Reinventing yourself from a position of strength is a rare & valuable opportunity and I’m delighted to have Ameer lead that agenda for us.”

    Founded in 1996, LinOpinion was amongst the first PR offerings by a communications group (Lintas) in India, and remains the most successful of any agency’s PR offerings to date. Since 2015, the agency has been on a journey to evolve its model, structure, and offerings. The agency is now fully structured around Golin’s world-renowned G4 model. It was also one of the first PR firms in the country to offer a social media practice in the form of brand newsrooms, called the Bridge™.

    Speaking of the promotion, Ameer Ismail, says, “I am so proud to be a part of this great institution – the MullenLowe Lintas Group and am looking forward to this new phase in my journey with a renewed focus and dedication towards delivering great work. GolinOpinion is recognized as a premium and leading player in the PR industry. We have today some of the best brands represented in our portfolio. As the business evolves, I am tasked to work closely with our management team to takeGolinOpinion to even greater heights by building scale and new competencies that will continue the brave work that has been our trademark so far.”

    GolinOpinion manages the PR mandate for some leading global and Indian companies and brands including TATA Starbucks, Dubai Ports World, Budweiser, Texas Instruments, HUL (multiple brands), Seiko, Etihad Airways, Marriott International Inc, Porsche, Lamborghini, Cinepolis and Sony Pictures Networks India.

    Ameer is a part of the Golin global leadership group and works closely with the regional and global MDs. He serves on the advisory committee board of several management forums. He has served as a jury for several award shows including SABRE and GoaFest. He has worked with the Centre of Change Management in successful seminars like International Brand Summit and The Asia Pacific HR Conference. He was also awarded the CMO Asia Award for Outstanding Contribution to Corporate Communications in Singapore in 2011 and recently named one of the top 10 leaders in the PR industry in India by Reputation Today magazine.

  • Mayuresh U. Dubhashi new executive creative director at Grey group India

    MUMBAI: Grey group India has appointed veteran advertising expert Mayuresh Dubhashi as its executive creative director.

    Dubhashi will be reporting to Grey group India chief creative officer Sandipan Bhattacharyya.

    Bhattacharyya said, “The combination of creative flair and a keen strategic mind is rare and Mayuresh packs both in his impressive body of work. He’s fearless, experimental, hungry and young. Just the kinds that define the new Grey”

    Dubhashi, a Mechanical Engineer, has been in the advertising industry for nearly 15 years, working on iconic Indian and global brands across all aspects of creativity and innovation. Brands he worked with include The Times Group, Airtel, Amazon, Hike Messenger, Mahindra 2 Wheelers, Pepsodent, Smirnoff, RIN Global, Nokia, Nike, Brylcreem, SetMax, IDEA, Lakme, Surf Excel, Wheel, Godrej Appliances & Corporate etc. His experience includes working with agencies like Lowe, JWT and Taproot India. His interests include reading books, watching movies & listening to music.

    Dubhashi has earned a multitude of awards, including a Bronze Lion at Cannes, two Silvers at Spikes Asia and Gold at Goafest etc.

    Dubhashi said, “This is Grey’s centenary year, it just goes to show that the energy and will powering the place is quite inexhaustible. I am kicked to be a part of a bunch of people who are hell-bent on keeping the ‘Famously Effective’ spirit true, for decades to come.”

  • Maxus’ Lindsay Pattison to lead change initiatives across GroupM

    MUMBAI: GroupM, the world’s leading media investment group, today announced the appointment of Lindsay Pattison as Chief Transformation Officer (CTO). She will lead change initiatives across GroupM and its agencies, and with other WPP companies will create tailored and flexible models that serve clients better in the extremely competitive business environment.

    Pattison will lead a number of change programs to support group and agency structures, talent and leadership development, culture and diversity, as well as WPP’s horizontality strategy. She remains a member of GroupM’s global executive committee, reporting to Kelly Clark, global CEO of GroupM. Pattison also continues as CEO of GroupM agency Maxus and will perform both roles.

    In her new role, Pattison will also focus on senior talent development to ensure GroupM and its agencies have a strong bench of diverse leaders who can help clients win in a very challenging marketing landscape. She will support WPP’s horizontality strategy by helping deliver the best of GroupM to key clients, together with other WPP companies, regardless of the client’s entry point to the group.

    “Clients need us to think differently and work smarter,” said Clark. “Lindsay will help us deliver on those challenges. I’ve worked with her for many years. She’s a force, and holds the respect of clients and colleagues. She will make a huge impact with her smarts, energy and warmth.”

    WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell said: “GroupM and its agencies are key to WPP’s horizontality strategy. Lindsay will play a crucial role in accelerating our delivery of new and innovative service structures for clients.”

    Pattison was named global CEO of Maxus in October 2014. She was previously Global Chief Strategy Officer and UK CEO for Maxus during a period in which it was the fastest-growing media agency worldwide. Her prior experience includes roles at Young and Rubicam, PHD Media and Sony Ericsson. Lindsay was named to Ad Age’s 2015 class of Women to Watch and served two terms on the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council focused on the Future of Media. In 2016, she launched ‘Walk the Talk,’ an initiative to help senior women at Maxus to thrive and progress in their career, a program now being adopted globally by WPP.

    “When we look at the broader business context, the transformation we are experiencing is profound,” Pattison said. “The WEF calls it the ‘fourth industrial revolution,’ a technological revolution and one that requires two key skills to succeed: collaboration and agility. New thinking is required across the board, and I’m delighted to take on this new transformation role.”

  • iProspect appoints digital expert Srikar Nagubandi as SVP – Ops

    MUMBAI: iProspect India, the global, leading, multi-award winning digital agency from Dentsu Aegis Network, has hired Srikar Nagubandi as Senior Vice President – Operations. He comes with more than 15 years of experience in the digital space with a focus on Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing, Social Media and Web Analytics. Nagubandi’s core responsibilities at iProspect India will comprise leading the SEO and Analytics verticals and overseeing the Paid Media mandates.

    Nagubandi will report into Rubeena Singh, CEO, iProspect India and will be based out of Mumbai.

    Prior to iProspect India, he was Director, Media Engagement & Technology at W20 Group, New York. Some of his stints before this include those at Razorfish & Razorfish Health which is a part of the Publicis Group, AppliancesOnline.com. He has worked in international markets like New York and Australia throughout his career.

    Given his digital marketing and analytics background, Nagubandi is adept at both the planning and technical implementation side of the business having been a developer earlier in his career. He is also an industry thought leader who has spoken at numerous conferences and written articles focused on search innovation and best practices related to eCommerce, social media and blogging, particularly in healthcare.

    iProspect India CEO Rubeena Singh said, “We are elated to welcome Srikar on board the iProspect team. He brings immense value to the company’s capabilities with his extensive experience in global markets. We want to increasingly bring on board senior talent who can carry forward the learnings of developed and evolved markets to our clients, providing them with innovative and effective business solutions and helping them stay ahead of the curve. I’m positive Srikar will drive higher RoI and propose effective digital solutions to our existing and potential set of clients.”

    Srikar Nagubandi, Senior Vice President – Operations, iProspect India said, “In my experience in working with some of the best brands in the world, I have come to believe that it’s crucial to make the complex simple and the simple understandable and actionable for the client. Digital is only growing in complexity and the agency of the future needs to harness deep learning to innovate relentlessly and delight our clients. I am thrilled to be starting a new chapter with my role at iProspect India, and be a part of this ongoing evaluation in not only the fastest growing economy in the world, but an economy where digital advertising spend is experiencing double digit growth.”

  • eBay’s Ravi Sekhar KV is MEC India’s chief digital officer, will report to MD T Gangadhar

    MUMBAI: MEC India, a leading media agency, announced the appointment of Ravi Sekhar KV as Chief Digital Officer. Sekhar’s role at MEC will be to drive the agency’s end-to-end digital service. He will be based in Mumbai and will report to T Gangadhar, Managing Director, MEC South Asia.

    Sekhar is an avid technologist and has been closely involved in the setting up of several start-ups. He recently founded selekt.in, an artificial-intelligence-powered product discovery engine. In his previous role, he headed digital, marketing technology and retention marketing at eBay India. During his stint at eBay, he led first-of-its-kind innovations such as eBay Daily, a tailored shopping experience offering FMCG and gourmet products and a third party affiliate cash back programme.

    Speaking on the appointment, T. Gangadhar, MD, MEC South Asia said, “From my conversations with him, I find Ravi to be an exciting combination of passion, exuberance and expertise. Given his strong background, I have no doubt he will help scale our digital service even further. I am looking forward to working (and learning) from him.”

    Sekhar also has a strong background in FMCG and telecom and has had stints with CavinKare and Nokia.

    Ravi Sekhar KV said, “The industry is witnessing exciting growth. Both, traditional and online companies are acknowledging the impact of data and digital marketing on their business. This is a fantastic opportunity for us to build the relevant technology stacks. Given the scale at which MEC operates, I look forward to collaborating with our teams in India and across the global network”.

  • Publicis appoints Céline Fronval as general counsel

    MUMBAI: Publicis Groupe has announced the appointment of Céline Fronval to the role of Groupe General Counsel. She took on her new role as of 1 May, 2017, and reports directly to Anne-Gabrielle Heilbronner, member of the directoire (Management Board) and secretary-general of Publicis Groupe.

    Céline, previously the deputy general counsel of Publicis Groupe, will succeed Joe LaSala, who is retiring from Publicis Groupe after two years. Joe was the general counsel of Sapient from February 2011 to March 2015 and was promoted to Groupe General Counsel at Publicis Groupe in Paris after the acquisition of Sapient in April 2015.

    Céline Fronval was the head of legal for France from September 2012 to September 2014, and promoted to Deputy General Counsel in October 2014. Prior to this, she worked in various law firms including Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in New York and in-house legal positions (Chief Legal Officer at BetClic Everest Group). Céline holds a LL.M degree from Columbia University and a Master degree (DEA) in International law from University Panthéon-Assas (Paris II).

    Heilbronner said, “I’d like to thank Joe LaSala for these past few years he has served Publicis Groupe, during which he has truly proven his professionalism and expertise. I’d also like to wish Céline much success in her new role, which I am happy to see her take on after five successful years with the Groupe. Her experience and skills will be great assets with which she will carry out her missions.”