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Category: People

  • FCB Ulka designates John Thangaraj as executive planning director for north

    FCB Ulka designates John Thangaraj as executive planning director for north

    MUMBAI: FCB Ulka Advertising today announced the appointment of John Thangaraj as Executive Planning Director – North. Thangaraj joins FCB Ulka from Mindshare, where he was Head of Strategy for the North. In his 14 year career he has worked across research, marketing, account planning and media at companies like Quantum, Adidas, Rediffusion, Lowe Lintas and GroupM.

    Speaking on his new role, John Thangaraj said, “Most people think of FCB as a legacy agency, with a rich heritage of strategic thinking and a strong base of long term clients. Which of course it is. But it’s also an agency that is reinventing itself for today with a strong focus on media neutral, idea out thinking that impacts consumer behavior in multiple ways across multiple contexts. One of my biggest mandates will be to drive this agenda and in Rohit, Suman and Debbie I have the perfect support system in which to do so.”

    FCB Ulka vice chairman and chief strategy officer, strategy planning Suman Srivastava said, “Modern marketing is all about integration. While today’s marketing communications landscape is woefully fragmented. As we strive towards providing our clients truly integrated brand solutions, we need people who have experience across diverse fields. That is why John’s experiences fits in so well with us. He has worked on a wide range of brands and categories from the creative agency side as well as the media agency side. He is a truly all round thinker and that is essential for integrated strategies.”

    FCB Ulka CEO Nitin Karkare said, “I am looking forward to working with John. He comes in at time when we have a great new team in Delhi with Debbie, Vasudha and Arijit. He will be our key resource in providing a larger strategic and business perspective to our clients through his varied experience across categories. His fresh thinking, enthusiasm and exposure will help us as we device integrated communication and engagement platforms to connect with the new changing consumers.”

    Beyond his work, John is an ardent animal lover, spends his free time playing with this two Labrador Retrievers and reading anything he can get his hands on – though with a remarkable bias towards horror, fantasy, sci-fi and comics.

  • Mohit Hira appointed as IBT Media President & Country Head of India

    Mohit Hira appointed as IBT Media President & Country Head of India

    MUMBAI: IBT Media India has appointed Mohit Hira as President & Country Head of its India operations.

    IBT Media’s Indian edition (www.ibtimes.co.in) is headquarted in Bengaluru and led by Chandra Mohan, Managing Director, has been operational since 2011.

    “Hira’s mandate is to create a brand out of a well-built product with market-facing initiatives and content reinforcement” added Mohan. The site claims that it is engineered by IB Times’ global team, and has seen rapid growth in recent years. It is also well supported by advertisers. Apart from business news, technology, entertainment, sports and politics from India and the world constitute the news lineup in the India edition.

    IB Times MD Dev Pragad said, “We were very impressed by Mohit’s deep understanding of digital publishing. His background from advertising to publishing puts him in the perfect position to take IBT Media in India to the next level. We look forward to working very closely with him”.

    “IB Times presents a unique opportunity to take a popular digital destination to the next level. In my interactions with Dev and Mohan, their infectious start-up attitude convinced me of the opportunity to leverage my experience. The website is rich in content and is engineered for on-the-go readers who need credible updates on business news through the day. Now it’s time to turn it into a consumer-facing brand and socialise it,” said Mohit Hira.

    In his last assignment, Mohit Hira was Chief Executive & Publisher of the RP-Sanjiv Goenka owned Open Media Network which publishes Open Magazine. Hira was also responsible for re launching Open’s website, strengthening its sales team and repositioning the brand.Before joining Open, he was CEO at Hungama Digital Services (HDS) and Digital Head at J. Walter Thompson India, as well as Regional Business Head on the Airtel account. Hira had joined JWT from NIIT, where he was President of its B2C global online learning business that he had started. He was also the Chief Marketing Officer for NIIT’s retail individual training businesses and helped in the founding years of the NIIT University.

    As Director-Times Internet Ltd where he was the brand custodian for the group’s website, www.indiatimes.com, he was responsible for incubation, marketing and usability of its portals.Before this, he was the Brand Head of The Economic Times (Delhi) and Navbharat Times at Bennett Coleman. Originally, a copywriter at Contract Advertising’s Kolkata office, Mohit Hira grew to take charge first as Creative Director and then the head of its Kolkata and Delhi offices.

    An English (Hons.) graduate of Jadavpur University, Kolkata, Mohit is also an alumnus of Executive Development Programmes at ISB Hyderabad, IIM Ahmedabad and INSEAD Singapore where he was nominated to the Google Academy.

    He will continue to be based in Delhi NCR and will work closely with the India and EMEA Managing Directors of IB Times.

  • Mohit Hira appointed as IBT Media President & Country Head of India

    Mohit Hira appointed as IBT Media President & Country Head of India

    MUMBAI: IBT Media India has appointed Mohit Hira as President & Country Head of its India operations.

    IBT Media’s Indian edition (www.ibtimes.co.in) is headquarted in Bengaluru and led by Chandra Mohan, Managing Director, has been operational since 2011.

    “Hira’s mandate is to create a brand out of a well-built product with market-facing initiatives and content reinforcement” added Mohan. The site claims that it is engineered by IB Times’ global team, and has seen rapid growth in recent years. It is also well supported by advertisers. Apart from business news, technology, entertainment, sports and politics from India and the world constitute the news lineup in the India edition.

    IB Times MD Dev Pragad said, “We were very impressed by Mohit’s deep understanding of digital publishing. His background from advertising to publishing puts him in the perfect position to take IBT Media in India to the next level. We look forward to working very closely with him”.

    “IB Times presents a unique opportunity to take a popular digital destination to the next level. In my interactions with Dev and Mohan, their infectious start-up attitude convinced me of the opportunity to leverage my experience. The website is rich in content and is engineered for on-the-go readers who need credible updates on business news through the day. Now it’s time to turn it into a consumer-facing brand and socialise it,” said Mohit Hira.

    In his last assignment, Mohit Hira was Chief Executive & Publisher of the RP-Sanjiv Goenka owned Open Media Network which publishes Open Magazine. Hira was also responsible for re launching Open’s website, strengthening its sales team and repositioning the brand.Before joining Open, he was CEO at Hungama Digital Services (HDS) and Digital Head at J. Walter Thompson India, as well as Regional Business Head on the Airtel account. Hira had joined JWT from NIIT, where he was President of its B2C global online learning business that he had started. He was also the Chief Marketing Officer for NIIT’s retail individual training businesses and helped in the founding years of the NIIT University.

    As Director-Times Internet Ltd where he was the brand custodian for the group’s website, www.indiatimes.com, he was responsible for incubation, marketing and usability of its portals.Before this, he was the Brand Head of The Economic Times (Delhi) and Navbharat Times at Bennett Coleman. Originally, a copywriter at Contract Advertising’s Kolkata office, Mohit Hira grew to take charge first as Creative Director and then the head of its Kolkata and Delhi offices.

    An English (Hons.) graduate of Jadavpur University, Kolkata, Mohit is also an alumnus of Executive Development Programmes at ISB Hyderabad, IIM Ahmedabad and INSEAD Singapore where he was nominated to the Google Academy.

    He will continue to be based in Delhi NCR and will work closely with the India and EMEA Managing Directors of IB Times.

  • Razorfish India gets Mitika Malhotra to head business development for North

    Razorfish India gets Mitika Malhotra to head business development for North

    MUMBAI Razorfish part of the Publicis.Sapient platform, has appointed Mitika Malhotra as the Head of Business Development for North, based out of Razorfish India’s Gurgaon office.

    “Razorfish’s philosophy of Innovation resonates with the quote I live by: ‘Most people get ahead during the time others waste’. I am excited to be part of the story that the team here is crafting to set up new milestones,” she said on her appointment.

    Malhotra has experience in Strategy and Business development across International and Domestic markets, planning and implementing sales, marketing, and business initiatives to support corporate objectives.

    Prior to joining Razorfish, she was Group Head-Digital Business at Pulp Strategy (an Integrated Marketing Communications Agency) where she acquired as well as grew accounts of Michelin, Rolls Royce, Yamaha Music India, SRS group and other SMEs. Her focus was sharply on strategizing brand and business transformation solutions as she comprehends that seamless convergence of consumer behavior across channels is now the future.

    Razorfish India CEO Charulata Ravi Kumar too added, “We are constantly seeking highly curious people who have the energy and a razor sharp mind to persistently look for lateral solutions for the clients we partner. When I met Mitika, that’s just what I saw in her. She is able to cut through the many layers and get to the core of a business need. She will be a key member of our Business Transformation Advisory team that partners new clients to set them off on the digital path.”

    The company’s Head of Business Transformation, India and COO Gaurav Pathak also commented saying, “At Razorfish, we have a very strong team of highly specialized talent across creative, media and technology. Mitika’s track record and reputation of partnering to build a strong business precedes her and we are looking forward to the energy she will bring on board.”

  • Razorfish India gets Mitika Malhotra to head business development for North

    Razorfish India gets Mitika Malhotra to head business development for North

    MUMBAI Razorfish part of the Publicis.Sapient platform, has appointed Mitika Malhotra as the Head of Business Development for North, based out of Razorfish India’s Gurgaon office.

    “Razorfish’s philosophy of Innovation resonates with the quote I live by: ‘Most people get ahead during the time others waste’. I am excited to be part of the story that the team here is crafting to set up new milestones,” she said on her appointment.

    Malhotra has experience in Strategy and Business development across International and Domestic markets, planning and implementing sales, marketing, and business initiatives to support corporate objectives.

    Prior to joining Razorfish, she was Group Head-Digital Business at Pulp Strategy (an Integrated Marketing Communications Agency) where she acquired as well as grew accounts of Michelin, Rolls Royce, Yamaha Music India, SRS group and other SMEs. Her focus was sharply on strategizing brand and business transformation solutions as she comprehends that seamless convergence of consumer behavior across channels is now the future.

    Razorfish India CEO Charulata Ravi Kumar too added, “We are constantly seeking highly curious people who have the energy and a razor sharp mind to persistently look for lateral solutions for the clients we partner. When I met Mitika, that’s just what I saw in her. She is able to cut through the many layers and get to the core of a business need. She will be a key member of our Business Transformation Advisory team that partners new clients to set them off on the digital path.”

    The company’s Head of Business Transformation, India and COO Gaurav Pathak also commented saying, “At Razorfish, we have a very strong team of highly specialized talent across creative, media and technology. Mitika’s track record and reputation of partnering to build a strong business precedes her and we are looking forward to the energy she will bring on board.”

  • Publicis Media India makes key restructure and appointments

    Publicis Media India makes key restructure and appointments

    MUMBAI: Publicis Media today unveiled structure and leadership appointments for its organisation, as announced Publicis Media, India CEO Anupriya Acharya. As per the announcement,

    Mallikarjun Das (Malli) has been appointed Group CEO of Starcom India. His team will include Sarfaraz Khimani, Co-CEO Performics.Convonix, Pallav Jain, Co-CEO Performics.Convonix, Basabdatta Chowdhuri who now takes on the role of national COO, Starcom India.

    Furthermore, Tanmay Mohanty has been appointed as Zenith India Group CEO., with Performics.Resultrix MD Mayoori Kango in his team.

    “One of the greatest strengths of our new organization in India is its team of leaders, all of which have proven track records within our system. They have been integral in accomplishing what we have in the last 2-3 years and now committed to setting strategy and charting the course for the new organization,” Acharya said.

    She added, “The new structure that follows the framework of the global vision is fully equipped to fit the future and best serve our clients. It is a fresh opportunity to simplify our organisation, invent more modern approaches to gain effectiveness and efficiency, introduce structures for greater collaboration, and drive new levels of client value and delight”.

    Publicis Media, India will consolidate its agency brands: Starcom Mediavest, Zenith Optimedia, Equinox, Performics, Convonix, Resultrix, Ninah, Newcast into four agency brands that are in line with the global structure, namely: Starcom , Zenith, Mediavest | Spark, Optimedia | Blue 449

    In this new model, the agency network names of Starcom Mediavest Group and ZenithOptimedia Group are retired to better enable a flatter organisational structure. VivaKi capabilities will be fully integrated into Publicis Media’s Global Practice model. Performics will remain Publicis Media’s global performance marketing brand and scale within all agency brands.

    Apart from the two CEO appointments for Starcom India and Zenith India, other key appointments the media agency giant announced are as follows

    Dnyanada Chaudhari will lead Publicis Media Exchange

    Santosh Ghosh will lead Data, Technology & Innovation

    Aarti Bharadwaj will lead Analytics, Research & Insight

    Gautham Pingali will lead Business Transformation and Content

    Communications will be led by Anushree Chandran.

    At a Publicis Media India level, Rajesh Viswanathan is appointed Chief Financial Officer, Saswati Sinha is appointed Chief Talent Officer.

    Starcom Chairman Hanley King has moved on to a global role within Publicis Media, his role is taken over by Malli

    Zenith Managing Director Hari Krishnan is also moving on to pursue other opportunities. Comments Anupriya, “We thank Hari for all his contributions and wish him the best. Another key appointment in Zenith, under Tanmay’s leadership will be announced in due course.”

  • Publicis Media India makes key restructure and appointments

    Publicis Media India makes key restructure and appointments

    MUMBAI: Publicis Media today unveiled structure and leadership appointments for its organisation, as announced Publicis Media, India CEO Anupriya Acharya. As per the announcement,

    Mallikarjun Das (Malli) has been appointed Group CEO of Starcom India. His team will include Sarfaraz Khimani, Co-CEO Performics.Convonix, Pallav Jain, Co-CEO Performics.Convonix, Basabdatta Chowdhuri who now takes on the role of national COO, Starcom India.

    Furthermore, Tanmay Mohanty has been appointed as Zenith India Group CEO., with Performics.Resultrix MD Mayoori Kango in his team.

    “One of the greatest strengths of our new organization in India is its team of leaders, all of which have proven track records within our system. They have been integral in accomplishing what we have in the last 2-3 years and now committed to setting strategy and charting the course for the new organization,” Acharya said.

    She added, “The new structure that follows the framework of the global vision is fully equipped to fit the future and best serve our clients. It is a fresh opportunity to simplify our organisation, invent more modern approaches to gain effectiveness and efficiency, introduce structures for greater collaboration, and drive new levels of client value and delight”.

    Publicis Media, India will consolidate its agency brands: Starcom Mediavest, Zenith Optimedia, Equinox, Performics, Convonix, Resultrix, Ninah, Newcast into four agency brands that are in line with the global structure, namely: Starcom , Zenith, Mediavest | Spark, Optimedia | Blue 449

    In this new model, the agency network names of Starcom Mediavest Group and ZenithOptimedia Group are retired to better enable a flatter organisational structure. VivaKi capabilities will be fully integrated into Publicis Media’s Global Practice model. Performics will remain Publicis Media’s global performance marketing brand and scale within all agency brands.

    Apart from the two CEO appointments for Starcom India and Zenith India, other key appointments the media agency giant announced are as follows

    Dnyanada Chaudhari will lead Publicis Media Exchange

    Santosh Ghosh will lead Data, Technology & Innovation

    Aarti Bharadwaj will lead Analytics, Research & Insight

    Gautham Pingali will lead Business Transformation and Content

    Communications will be led by Anushree Chandran.

    At a Publicis Media India level, Rajesh Viswanathan is appointed Chief Financial Officer, Saswati Sinha is appointed Chief Talent Officer.

    Starcom Chairman Hanley King has moved on to a global role within Publicis Media, his role is taken over by Malli

    Zenith Managing Director Hari Krishnan is also moving on to pursue other opportunities. Comments Anupriya, “We thank Hari for all his contributions and wish him the best. Another key appointment in Zenith, under Tanmay’s leadership will be announced in due course.”

  • Vivek Ballabh is Maxus Digital general manager

    Vivek Ballabh is Maxus Digital general manager

    MUMBAI: Global marketing communications consultancy Maxus announced today the appointment of Vivek Ballabh as Maxus Digital general manager for North India.

    Ballabh joins Maxus from Cheil India, where he managed the media operations for multiple clients . He brings with him extensive experience in digital marketing and branding which enables a significant understanding in planning/executing various integrated digital campaigns. In a career spanning 14+ years, Ballabh has worked with leading agencies/companies – these being Cheil India, Monster.com, Webchutney, Digitas & Razorfish etc. His body of work also includes working with several fortune 500 brands like HP, Samsung, AMD, Fritolays, 7Up, Microsoft, Makemytrip.com, Maruti Suzuki, Axis Bank, Nestle, Dabur and Airtel among others.

    Ballabh started his career with the online marketing domain with Careercommunity.com which launched India’s first online job portal- Winjobs.com. He has spent 2 years at Monster.com as a Brand Manager where he handled marketing operations for South East Asian markets. With over 5 years spent at Digitas & Razorfish, he launched the digital media practice and also setup a SEM centric off-shore centre of 120 people, catering to the group’s business needs worldwide.

    Commenting on the new appointment Maxus national director Vishal Jacob said, “Vivek brings invaluable experience in digital marketing. He brings the right mix of talent, experience and enthusiasm we seek to inject into our talent pool and will help the Maxus team in Delhi take a leap forward. The mandate for Vivek is to consolidate and grow the North operations which I’m sure he will do a fabulous job of and successfully achieve all milestones”

    Elaborating on his new role Ballabh said, “I believe the digital revolution has just taken off in this market and the times ahead will be more exciting than ever. Brands have evolved in their digital thinking and Maxus is strongly poised to deliver cutting edge digital innovations, leading to more meaningful brand and consumer connections. I look forward to working closely with the super talented and energetic team that exists within the agency.”

  • Vivek Ballabh is Maxus Digital general manager

    Vivek Ballabh is Maxus Digital general manager

    MUMBAI: Global marketing communications consultancy Maxus announced today the appointment of Vivek Ballabh as Maxus Digital general manager for North India.

    Ballabh joins Maxus from Cheil India, where he managed the media operations for multiple clients . He brings with him extensive experience in digital marketing and branding which enables a significant understanding in planning/executing various integrated digital campaigns. In a career spanning 14+ years, Ballabh has worked with leading agencies/companies – these being Cheil India, Monster.com, Webchutney, Digitas & Razorfish etc. His body of work also includes working with several fortune 500 brands like HP, Samsung, AMD, Fritolays, 7Up, Microsoft, Makemytrip.com, Maruti Suzuki, Axis Bank, Nestle, Dabur and Airtel among others.

    Ballabh started his career with the online marketing domain with Careercommunity.com which launched India’s first online job portal- Winjobs.com. He has spent 2 years at Monster.com as a Brand Manager where he handled marketing operations for South East Asian markets. With over 5 years spent at Digitas & Razorfish, he launched the digital media practice and also setup a SEM centric off-shore centre of 120 people, catering to the group’s business needs worldwide.

    Commenting on the new appointment Maxus national director Vishal Jacob said, “Vivek brings invaluable experience in digital marketing. He brings the right mix of talent, experience and enthusiasm we seek to inject into our talent pool and will help the Maxus team in Delhi take a leap forward. The mandate for Vivek is to consolidate and grow the North operations which I’m sure he will do a fabulous job of and successfully achieve all milestones”

    Elaborating on his new role Ballabh said, “I believe the digital revolution has just taken off in this market and the times ahead will be more exciting than ever. Brands have evolved in their digital thinking and Maxus is strongly poised to deliver cutting edge digital innovations, leading to more meaningful brand and consumer connections. I look forward to working closely with the super talented and energetic team that exists within the agency.”

  • Venu Gopal is head of buying at Infiniti Retail

    Venu Gopal is head of buying at Infiniti Retail

    MUMBAI: Tata group firm Infiniti Retail has appointed Venu Gopal as the Head of Buying.

    He will replace Rahul Tayal, who stepped down as the chief of buying with effect from June 15, 2016 to relocate to Delhi in order to stay closer to his family and pursue new opportunities.

    “Venu is a seasoned retail professional with over 2 decades of experience. He has handled pretty much every category Croma deals in and is a familiar name in every partner organization we do business with. Venu is Infiniti’s 1st employee and his accession is a strong testimony of our commitment to promoting talent from within the organization,” said Infiniti Retail Limited CEO Avijit Mitra.

    An economics graduate with a PGDM in Retail, Venu Gopal is an industry veteran with 21 years of experience in Sourcing, Merchandising, Planning, Operations, Sales & Marketing in Electronic Mega Stores, Hyper Markets & Life Style Department Stores.