ITV

Category: People

  • Leena Singarajah appointed Scripps Asia MD

    Leena Singarajah appointed Scripps Asia MD

    MUMBAI: Media veteran Leena Singarajah has been named as the managing director, Asia, for Scripps Networks Interactive. Singarajah will be responsible for developing and executing the growth strategy for the Scripps Networks lifestyle business across the region.

    Scripps Networks Head of International Lifestyle Channels Derek Chang said that Leena was a consummate professional and widely respected for her deep knowledge of the region and the industry. Her strategic vision, combined with her operational expertise, would be critical to further expand Scripps business across the region.

    Singarajah joined Scripps Networks in 2014 as Head of Distribution and Ad Sales, Asia-Pacific, responsible for developing strategies to continue growing distribution and building our regional and local ad sales business. Since joining, Singarajah has overseen the expansion of HGTV in the region and considerably strengthened the regional and local ad sales businesses.

  • Xaxis names Arshan Saha APAC president

    Xaxis names Arshan Saha APAC president

    MUMBAI: Xaxis the world’s largest programmatic media and technology platform, today announced the promotion of ArshanSaha to President, Asia Pacific (APAC). Saha was previously Vice President, South and Southeast Asia. As one of the founding members of Xaxis APAC, Saha helped established offices in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam and India.

    “Arshan has played an integral role in establishing Xaxis as the programmatic advertising platform of choice in Asia Pacific,” said Xaxis global president Nicolas Bidon. “He has done an incredible job of expanding Xaxis’ programmatic footprint and building the region’s business with great management skills, passion for our clients’ success and knowledge of the industry. I look forward to his continued leadership as APAC President.”

    “The tremendous success and growth of Xaxis has culminated in the creation of [m]PLATFORM which we are looking forward to roll out across APAC. Arshan has played a significant role in this success with his ability to understand and navigate clients and publishers in the region. I cannot think of a better candidate to take Xaxis APAC to the next level”, says [m]PLATFORM.
    APAC president Michel De Rijk.

    Over the last 4.5 years at Xaxis, Arshan’s leadership included full charge of all seven markets’ P&Ls, as well as growing the businesses 20-fold within a short span of three years. Prior to joining Xaxis in 2012, Arshan served as Regional Director for Southeast Asia at Innity Corp. where he played a critical role in establishing the company as the leading media network in the region. Arshan’s portfolio included over 300 clients across multiple industries, an array of large to mid-sized publishers, as well as technology vendors across APAC, driving best-in-class -advertising technology and innovation. He was also most recently voted as Campaign Asia’s 40 under 40 most talented individuals in Asia.

    “I am incredibly honored to lead our team of committed programmatic experts here in APAC. As leaders, we will continue to set standards and drive the industry forward with our proprietary technology and unique data so the entire ecosystem is able to benefit from measurable value.” said Arshan “It’s a very exciting time as clients are demanding empowerment and guarantees to be able to navigate through the programmatic landscape whilst at the other end of the spectrum we have a consumer who is seeking relevance and personalization.”

  • Xaxis names Arshan Saha APAC president

    Xaxis names Arshan Saha APAC president

    MUMBAI: Xaxis the world’s largest programmatic media and technology platform, today announced the promotion of ArshanSaha to President, Asia Pacific (APAC). Saha was previously Vice President, South and Southeast Asia. As one of the founding members of Xaxis APAC, Saha helped established offices in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam and India.

    “Arshan has played an integral role in establishing Xaxis as the programmatic advertising platform of choice in Asia Pacific,” said Xaxis global president Nicolas Bidon. “He has done an incredible job of expanding Xaxis’ programmatic footprint and building the region’s business with great management skills, passion for our clients’ success and knowledge of the industry. I look forward to his continued leadership as APAC President.”

    “The tremendous success and growth of Xaxis has culminated in the creation of [m]PLATFORM which we are looking forward to roll out across APAC. Arshan has played a significant role in this success with his ability to understand and navigate clients and publishers in the region. I cannot think of a better candidate to take Xaxis APAC to the next level”, says [m]PLATFORM.
    APAC president Michel De Rijk.

    Over the last 4.5 years at Xaxis, Arshan’s leadership included full charge of all seven markets’ P&Ls, as well as growing the businesses 20-fold within a short span of three years. Prior to joining Xaxis in 2012, Arshan served as Regional Director for Southeast Asia at Innity Corp. where he played a critical role in establishing the company as the leading media network in the region. Arshan’s portfolio included over 300 clients across multiple industries, an array of large to mid-sized publishers, as well as technology vendors across APAC, driving best-in-class -advertising technology and innovation. He was also most recently voted as Campaign Asia’s 40 under 40 most talented individuals in Asia.

    “I am incredibly honored to lead our team of committed programmatic experts here in APAC. As leaders, we will continue to set standards and drive the industry forward with our proprietary technology and unique data so the entire ecosystem is able to benefit from measurable value.” said Arshan “It’s a very exciting time as clients are demanding empowerment and guarantees to be able to navigate through the programmatic landscape whilst at the other end of the spectrum we have a consumer who is seeking relevance and personalization.”

  • VML appoints Venkatagiri Rao as creative head

    VML appoints Venkatagiri Rao as creative head

    MUMBAI: Global digital marketing agency VML has announced the appointment of Venkatagiri Rao as Creative Head – India, as part of a significant step to solidify its creative capabilities. In his new role, Venkat will spearhead the office’s creative practice, which continues to form the foundation for the agency’s growth.

    Based in Mumbai, Venkat will report directly to Tripti Lochan, CEO – VML Southeast & India.

    “With the digital marketing landscape evolving rapidly over the years, we remain firmly committed to pushing the boundaries of technology and expanding our creative offering to serve brands with brilliant ideas,” said VML CEO southeast & India Tripti Lochan. “We are delighted to have Venkat on board, and are confident that his passion for innovation will drive the change brands need, and take our creative offerings a notch higher.”

    Venkat brings with him over 16 years of industry experience across agencies, most recently at DDB Mudra Group, Mumbai, where he served as Executive Creative Director for a period of five years. There, he handled notable companies and brands including Emirates, Volkswagen, Economic Times, Femina, Kalpataru Developers, Lonely Planet, Top Gear and Arshiya Logistics.

    Prior to DDB Mudra, Venkat held stints at Ogilvy, Ambience Publicis, Alok Nanda & Company and Fisheye Creative Solutions. He is best known for his work on Economic Times, Femina, Emirates, Victorinox, Tata Safari & Mid-day for which he has won various awards, including One Show, Effies, London- International & Abbys.

    Venkat commented, “As VML continues to gain momentum in Southeast Asia and India, I am honoured to be given the opportunity to be part of an agency that is strongly invested in creating awe-inspiring customer experiences that drive proven business impact. I am definitely looking forward to working closely with the India team to push new creative boundaries.”

    VML is a global marketing agency that delivers forward-thinking ideas and solutions for the world’s most influential brands, including: Castrol, Kellogg’s, ICICI Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, INSEAD, Ford, Changi Airport and Mattel.

    Founded in 1992 and globally headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., VML has more than 2,300 employees with principal offices in 26 locations across six continents. Regionally headquartered in Singapore, VML has offices in Jakarta, Mumbai and New Delhi. In 2001, VML joined the world’s largest communications services group WPP.

  • VML appoints Venkatagiri Rao as creative head

    VML appoints Venkatagiri Rao as creative head

    MUMBAI: Global digital marketing agency VML has announced the appointment of Venkatagiri Rao as Creative Head – India, as part of a significant step to solidify its creative capabilities. In his new role, Venkat will spearhead the office’s creative practice, which continues to form the foundation for the agency’s growth.

    Based in Mumbai, Venkat will report directly to Tripti Lochan, CEO – VML Southeast & India.

    “With the digital marketing landscape evolving rapidly over the years, we remain firmly committed to pushing the boundaries of technology and expanding our creative offering to serve brands with brilliant ideas,” said VML CEO southeast & India Tripti Lochan. “We are delighted to have Venkat on board, and are confident that his passion for innovation will drive the change brands need, and take our creative offerings a notch higher.”

    Venkat brings with him over 16 years of industry experience across agencies, most recently at DDB Mudra Group, Mumbai, where he served as Executive Creative Director for a period of five years. There, he handled notable companies and brands including Emirates, Volkswagen, Economic Times, Femina, Kalpataru Developers, Lonely Planet, Top Gear and Arshiya Logistics.

    Prior to DDB Mudra, Venkat held stints at Ogilvy, Ambience Publicis, Alok Nanda & Company and Fisheye Creative Solutions. He is best known for his work on Economic Times, Femina, Emirates, Victorinox, Tata Safari & Mid-day for which he has won various awards, including One Show, Effies, London- International & Abbys.

    Venkat commented, “As VML continues to gain momentum in Southeast Asia and India, I am honoured to be given the opportunity to be part of an agency that is strongly invested in creating awe-inspiring customer experiences that drive proven business impact. I am definitely looking forward to working closely with the India team to push new creative boundaries.”

    VML is a global marketing agency that delivers forward-thinking ideas and solutions for the world’s most influential brands, including: Castrol, Kellogg’s, ICICI Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, INSEAD, Ford, Changi Airport and Mattel.

    Founded in 1992 and globally headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., VML has more than 2,300 employees with principal offices in 26 locations across six continents. Regionally headquartered in Singapore, VML has offices in Jakarta, Mumbai and New Delhi. In 2001, VML joined the world’s largest communications services group WPP.

  • Grey strengthens A-Pac team with triple hire

    Grey strengthens A-Pac team with triple hire

    MUMBAI: Grey Group has unveiled a set of triple hires in a move to bolster its leadership core in Asia, with a special focus on Grey Group Singapore. The trio will play an instrumental role in deepening Grey Group Singapore’s creative offerings and creative processes, as well as drive the ongoing digital transformation of the company, across the region. The senior appointments demonstrate Grey’s commitment to design a path for repositioning and expanding its services, in order to focus on growth as well as meet clients’ needs through famously effective work.

    Måns Tesch comes on board in the newly created role of Chief Strategy Officer for Grey Group Asia Pacific in order to lead the strategy teams and set the strategic direction across the region and to oversee Grey’s continued immersion into the areas of innovation, mobile and social.

    A well-respected and accomplished strategic and digital veteran he joins Grey from Crispin Porter + Bogusky where he was Chief Strategy Officer for Scandinavia. He led strategy and planning in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Copenhagen, working across the entire client spectrum including; Arla, Carlsberg, Ikea, Infiniti, Scania and Sony.

    Earlier in his career, in 1996, he co-founded Tesch & Tesch, a pioneering creative hotshop in Stockholm which quickly established itself as one of the top digital creative agencies in Northern Europe. In 2002 they were acquired by Lowe Worldwide and became known as Lowe Tesch before merging with leading Scandinavian agency Lowe Brindfors, in 2007. Thereafter, Måns was named Global Digital Strategy Director at Lowe Worldwide and based out of London, he developed the digital efforts of the Lowe network around the world whilst working with their global clients, Nestlé, Stella Artois, Unilever and Nokia, amongst others.

    In 2008, Måns took on the role of Digital Strategy Director at Fallon in London before re-launching Tesch in 2010 as a strategic and creative consultancy, advising brands such as Cadbury, LVMH, Samsung, Spotify & Unilever, on how to become more relevant through innovation.

    Måns joined Razorfish as Executive Strategy Director in March 2013 where he worked with names such as Argos, BlackBerry, DHL, and McDonalds and won new clients including; Beats by Dre, JP Morgan, Novartis and Spotify. This was followed by a stint at Wieden + Kennedy in London working on Samsung’s Olympic Sponsorship and the launch of Angry Birds 2.

    Måns is one of the world’s most awarded strategists and has been recognized as a ‘Digital Pioneer’ by the FWA (world’s leading community for digital creativity). He has participated on numerous jury panels including Campaign Big Awards, Creative Circle, and D&AD and is a sought-after speaker having chaired Creative Review’s annual “Click”-conference, and spoken at seminars such as The Guardian’s Changing Media Summit, Ad Tech London, and held lectures at Hyper Island.

    Marthinus Strydom has been appointed to the role of Global Creative Leader, Team GSK, Grey Group Singapore. He will work closely with Ali Shabaz (Chief Creative Officer, Grey Group, South East Asia) to set the overall creative direction for Grey’s GSK operations. In line with the agency’s reputation for creative excellence, he will be responsible for fostering an even-deeper culture of creativity and accelerate Team GSK’s digital transformation. Over the span of his much-lauded career, Marthinus’ work has been recognized at the D&AD, Webby, Cannes, One Show, Effies, and has been featured on the Gunn Report and other prominent industry publications.

    Originally from South Africa, Marthinus has called Singapore home for the past 12 years. Prior to Grey, he did a six-year stint as a Creative Director of BBH Asia Pacific (Singapore), where he led several memorable projects for the likes of Google, IKEA, UOB Bank, Chupa Chups, and Vaseline. In an earlier role as Digital Associate Creative Director at BBDO (New York), Marthinus was credited for the development of groundbreaking integrated work for A-list clients including AT&T and GE.

    The appointments of Måns and Marthinus follow that of key senior hire, Neil Cotton, who has joined in the dual role of Global Strategy Director for GSK and Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) for Grey Group Singapore. His career has seen him collaborate with many exciting brands such as Coca Cola, Johnson & Johnson, Heineken, Audi, IBM, and Nokia, amongst others.

    Prior to Grey, Neil was the founder of Liberty Networks, a brand and innovation consultancy with Unilever, Infiniti, OCBC, and Channel News Asia amongst its clientele. An industry veteran of 27 years, he has previously held a number of senior leadership roles including; Senior Partner & Worldwide Group Planning Director (1992-2002) at Ogilvy & Mather, New York, where he worked on IBM’s fast growing software business as well as assisting the client with several big acquisitions and partnerships. Neil then went on to become the Regional Head of Planning (2002-2005) at Bates, Hong Kong (HK), and was instrumental in building the planning function and re-positioning the Bates network before it was acquired by WPP. In 2005, he joined Lowe Worldwide, HK, as the Regional Chief Strategy Officer (2005-2007) and was widely credited with bringing in the planning discipline to their Asia operations. Neil was also the founder of GMT+8 Consulting, HK/Shanghai (2007-2009), where he worked with agencies and clients to find solutions to big strategic communications problems. From 2009-2011, he took on the role of Regional Chief Strategy Officer at Young & Rubicam, Singapore, and was attributed as a key contributor in developing their planning resources.

    A true globetrotter and citizen of the world, he has lived across several geographies including Singapore, Hong Kong, New York, and London.

    The group’s Asia Pacific, Middle East, & Africa chairman & CEO Nirvik Singh said: “In order to enhance Grey’s core leadership team, we continue to hire world-class talent in Neil Cotton and Marthinus Strydom. They have deep knowledge and proven track records in their specific areas of expertise and their roles are directed towards delivering our very best for our clients.”

    On having Måns Tesch on board, he commented: “In today’s dynamic environment, strategy, data and technology all play a crucial role and Måns is one of the world’s most experienced in this field. We want to take Grey to the next level and there is no better person to help us achieve this goal.”

  • Grey strengthens A-Pac team with triple hire

    Grey strengthens A-Pac team with triple hire

    MUMBAI: Grey Group has unveiled a set of triple hires in a move to bolster its leadership core in Asia, with a special focus on Grey Group Singapore. The trio will play an instrumental role in deepening Grey Group Singapore’s creative offerings and creative processes, as well as drive the ongoing digital transformation of the company, across the region. The senior appointments demonstrate Grey’s commitment to design a path for repositioning and expanding its services, in order to focus on growth as well as meet clients’ needs through famously effective work.

    Måns Tesch comes on board in the newly created role of Chief Strategy Officer for Grey Group Asia Pacific in order to lead the strategy teams and set the strategic direction across the region and to oversee Grey’s continued immersion into the areas of innovation, mobile and social.

    A well-respected and accomplished strategic and digital veteran he joins Grey from Crispin Porter + Bogusky where he was Chief Strategy Officer for Scandinavia. He led strategy and planning in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Copenhagen, working across the entire client spectrum including; Arla, Carlsberg, Ikea, Infiniti, Scania and Sony.

    Earlier in his career, in 1996, he co-founded Tesch & Tesch, a pioneering creative hotshop in Stockholm which quickly established itself as one of the top digital creative agencies in Northern Europe. In 2002 they were acquired by Lowe Worldwide and became known as Lowe Tesch before merging with leading Scandinavian agency Lowe Brindfors, in 2007. Thereafter, Måns was named Global Digital Strategy Director at Lowe Worldwide and based out of London, he developed the digital efforts of the Lowe network around the world whilst working with their global clients, Nestlé, Stella Artois, Unilever and Nokia, amongst others.

    In 2008, Måns took on the role of Digital Strategy Director at Fallon in London before re-launching Tesch in 2010 as a strategic and creative consultancy, advising brands such as Cadbury, LVMH, Samsung, Spotify & Unilever, on how to become more relevant through innovation.

    Måns joined Razorfish as Executive Strategy Director in March 2013 where he worked with names such as Argos, BlackBerry, DHL, and McDonalds and won new clients including; Beats by Dre, JP Morgan, Novartis and Spotify. This was followed by a stint at Wieden + Kennedy in London working on Samsung’s Olympic Sponsorship and the launch of Angry Birds 2.

    Måns is one of the world’s most awarded strategists and has been recognized as a ‘Digital Pioneer’ by the FWA (world’s leading community for digital creativity). He has participated on numerous jury panels including Campaign Big Awards, Creative Circle, and D&AD and is a sought-after speaker having chaired Creative Review’s annual “Click”-conference, and spoken at seminars such as The Guardian’s Changing Media Summit, Ad Tech London, and held lectures at Hyper Island.

    Marthinus Strydom has been appointed to the role of Global Creative Leader, Team GSK, Grey Group Singapore. He will work closely with Ali Shabaz (Chief Creative Officer, Grey Group, South East Asia) to set the overall creative direction for Grey’s GSK operations. In line with the agency’s reputation for creative excellence, he will be responsible for fostering an even-deeper culture of creativity and accelerate Team GSK’s digital transformation. Over the span of his much-lauded career, Marthinus’ work has been recognized at the D&AD, Webby, Cannes, One Show, Effies, and has been featured on the Gunn Report and other prominent industry publications.

    Originally from South Africa, Marthinus has called Singapore home for the past 12 years. Prior to Grey, he did a six-year stint as a Creative Director of BBH Asia Pacific (Singapore), where he led several memorable projects for the likes of Google, IKEA, UOB Bank, Chupa Chups, and Vaseline. In an earlier role as Digital Associate Creative Director at BBDO (New York), Marthinus was credited for the development of groundbreaking integrated work for A-list clients including AT&T and GE.

    The appointments of Måns and Marthinus follow that of key senior hire, Neil Cotton, who has joined in the dual role of Global Strategy Director for GSK and Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) for Grey Group Singapore. His career has seen him collaborate with many exciting brands such as Coca Cola, Johnson & Johnson, Heineken, Audi, IBM, and Nokia, amongst others.

    Prior to Grey, Neil was the founder of Liberty Networks, a brand and innovation consultancy with Unilever, Infiniti, OCBC, and Channel News Asia amongst its clientele. An industry veteran of 27 years, he has previously held a number of senior leadership roles including; Senior Partner & Worldwide Group Planning Director (1992-2002) at Ogilvy & Mather, New York, where he worked on IBM’s fast growing software business as well as assisting the client with several big acquisitions and partnerships. Neil then went on to become the Regional Head of Planning (2002-2005) at Bates, Hong Kong (HK), and was instrumental in building the planning function and re-positioning the Bates network before it was acquired by WPP. In 2005, he joined Lowe Worldwide, HK, as the Regional Chief Strategy Officer (2005-2007) and was widely credited with bringing in the planning discipline to their Asia operations. Neil was also the founder of GMT+8 Consulting, HK/Shanghai (2007-2009), where he worked with agencies and clients to find solutions to big strategic communications problems. From 2009-2011, he took on the role of Regional Chief Strategy Officer at Young & Rubicam, Singapore, and was attributed as a key contributor in developing their planning resources.

    A true globetrotter and citizen of the world, he has lived across several geographies including Singapore, Hong Kong, New York, and London.

    The group’s Asia Pacific, Middle East, & Africa chairman & CEO Nirvik Singh said: “In order to enhance Grey’s core leadership team, we continue to hire world-class talent in Neil Cotton and Marthinus Strydom. They have deep knowledge and proven track records in their specific areas of expertise and their roles are directed towards delivering our very best for our clients.”

    On having Måns Tesch on board, he commented: “In today’s dynamic environment, strategy, data and technology all play a crucial role and Måns is one of the world’s most experienced in this field. We want to take Grey to the next level and there is no better person to help us achieve this goal.”

  • APAC Effie Awards appoints Bhasin & Burge as heads of jury

    APAC Effie Awards appoints Bhasin & Burge as heads of jury

    MUMBAI: Asia Pacific Effie Awards, the region’s symbol of marketing effectiveness excellence, has named the first two heads of jury – Ashish Bhasin and Jean-Paul Burge.

    Ashish Bhasin is the chairman & CEO Dentsu Aegis Network South Asia and chairman Posterscope and MKTG – Asia Pacific. He is also a member of the Dentsu Aegis Network Asia Pacific Executive Board. A well-known personality in the Advertising & Media industry in Asia Pacific for the past 29 years, Ashish has built the Dentsu Aegis Network in India from a 50 member team to a 3000 member powerhouse.

    Prior to this, Ashish successfully led and set up several of Lintas India’s (IPG) businesses and also had the global role of Executive Vice President, Lowe Worldwide and Asia Regional Director for Integrated Marketing.

    His leadership and contributions are apparent from the multiple awards he has received, such as the Campaign Asia – South Asia Agency Head of the Year award 2016 and 2015 and MXM’s Media Person of the Year- 2016. As a veteran in the industry, Ashish has also served on global juries and trade bodies in India.

    Ashish shared “It gives me a great opportunity to see some of the best work around the region, across markets as well as to interact with some of the best minds in our business.”

    Jean-Paul Burge is the Chairman and CEO of BBDO Asia. Jean-Paul began his career at JWT London in 1998 and joined BBDO in 2004. Over the past seventeen years he has worked in London, Bangkok, Amsterdam, Hong Kong and Singapore.

    In 2007 he was appointed as the managing director of BBDO and Proximity Singapore, and was subsequently promoted to Chief Executive Officer in October 2008 and to President South East Asia in 2010. Jean-Paul has led BBDO to become the most awarded network for creativity and for effectiveness in the region, including the APAC Network of the Year in the Effie Global Index. Many of the BBDO Asia offices are also leaders in their respective markets, creating award-winning advertising and brand communications solutions for clients including HP, Exxon, FedEx, Guinness, Pepsi, Johnson & Johnson, DaimlerChrysler and Fonterra.

    “There is no part of our business that is going unchanged, more touch points, more data, less money and more scrutiny on all that can be scrutinised. What does however continue to separate success from failure is effectiveness. Creative work that is not effective is not creative and as we say at BBDO in the absence of great work nothing else matters,” Jean-Paul commented.

  • APAC Effie Awards appoints Bhasin & Burge as heads of jury

    APAC Effie Awards appoints Bhasin & Burge as heads of jury

    MUMBAI: Asia Pacific Effie Awards, the region’s symbol of marketing effectiveness excellence, has named the first two heads of jury – Ashish Bhasin and Jean-Paul Burge.

    Ashish Bhasin is the chairman & CEO Dentsu Aegis Network South Asia and chairman Posterscope and MKTG – Asia Pacific. He is also a member of the Dentsu Aegis Network Asia Pacific Executive Board. A well-known personality in the Advertising & Media industry in Asia Pacific for the past 29 years, Ashish has built the Dentsu Aegis Network in India from a 50 member team to a 3000 member powerhouse.

    Prior to this, Ashish successfully led and set up several of Lintas India’s (IPG) businesses and also had the global role of Executive Vice President, Lowe Worldwide and Asia Regional Director for Integrated Marketing.

    His leadership and contributions are apparent from the multiple awards he has received, such as the Campaign Asia – South Asia Agency Head of the Year award 2016 and 2015 and MXM’s Media Person of the Year- 2016. As a veteran in the industry, Ashish has also served on global juries and trade bodies in India.

    Ashish shared “It gives me a great opportunity to see some of the best work around the region, across markets as well as to interact with some of the best minds in our business.”

    Jean-Paul Burge is the Chairman and CEO of BBDO Asia. Jean-Paul began his career at JWT London in 1998 and joined BBDO in 2004. Over the past seventeen years he has worked in London, Bangkok, Amsterdam, Hong Kong and Singapore.

    In 2007 he was appointed as the managing director of BBDO and Proximity Singapore, and was subsequently promoted to Chief Executive Officer in October 2008 and to President South East Asia in 2010. Jean-Paul has led BBDO to become the most awarded network for creativity and for effectiveness in the region, including the APAC Network of the Year in the Effie Global Index. Many of the BBDO Asia offices are also leaders in their respective markets, creating award-winning advertising and brand communications solutions for clients including HP, Exxon, FedEx, Guinness, Pepsi, Johnson & Johnson, DaimlerChrysler and Fonterra.

    “There is no part of our business that is going unchanged, more touch points, more data, less money and more scrutiny on all that can be scrutinised. What does however continue to separate success from failure is effectiveness. Creative work that is not effective is not creative and as we say at BBDO in the absence of great work nothing else matters,” Jean-Paul commented.

  • Prashanth Challapalli joins Leo Burnett

    Prashanth Challapalli joins Leo Burnett

    MUMBAI: Leo Burnett announced Prashanth Challapalli as the chief integration officer for South Asia.

    In his new mandate, Challapalli will work with leaders across Publicis Communications to drive integration, and will report to Publicis Communications India CEO Saurabh Varma. His last stint was with iContract, where he was the executive vice president and digital head.

    At Leo Burnett, his key mandate predominantly includes operationalizing and scaling up Leo Burnett’s unique methodology, PLAY, which puts context at the heart of creating content. Prashanth will also be a key bridge between Publicis Communications and Publicis.Sapient, responsible for bringing the best of Publicis.Sapient to all clients.

    Varma said, “Prashanth will be key as we put digital at the core of our offering and increasingly create cutting edge ideas and stories which emanate from the product itself.”

    Added Prashanth, “I have always been a big believer in one brand, one consumer and one communication approach and most of the leaders at Publicis Communications are either ex-colleagues or friends for a long time.”

    With over 19 years of experience, Prashanth has worked with agencies like Ogilvy, Lowe, Dentsu, Publicis Ambience and Rediffusion Y&R, and has also successfully built and lead Jack in the Box Worldwide and iContract in the digital space. He has won multiple national and international awards like EFFIES, Spikes, and AME, among others, for his work across brands and campaigns like Puma, Pepsi, Slice, Louis Philippe, Durex and Kolaveri Di.