ITV

Category: People

  • GroupM’s Motivator ropes in Amol Mohandas as client leader

    GroupM’s Motivator ropes in Amol Mohandas as client leader

    MUMBAI: GroupM’s media agency Motivator has appointed Amol Mohandas as the client leader on all businesses. He will be based out of Mumbai and will look after all the businesses of Motivator in the city.

     

    With over 15 years of experience, Mohandas  joins Motivator from Percept Media. Prior to joining Percept Media, he established his own venture, Weave Through Communications, which provided multi-platform communication solutions to  clients. He has also been a part of Mediacom as the general manager for the UAE region, Starcom MediaVest Group as the associate media director and Mindshare.

     

    Motivator general manager Trishul Bhumkar said, “All our clients have had a fantastic 2015 and the momentum is only going to increase. We are getting ready to deliver on their business ambitions going forward. To do this we found the right senior leader in Amol. With a deep understanding of communication planning and having been an entrepreneur himself, Amol will be able to deliver on our client’s business results. Under him, Motivator’s Mumbai client leadership team is fully strengthened.”

     

    Mohandas added, “It is a happy feeling to be a part of an organisation where the objectives – the individual and the organisation – match! Looking forward to a long and exciting journey ahead where I can leverage my 360 experience across diverse work environments and contribute to the success of our client’s businesses.”

  • Dentsu Aegis launches The Story Lab in India; Sunil Kumaran to head

    Dentsu Aegis launches The Story Lab in India; Sunil Kumaran to head

    MUMBAI: Dentsu Aegis Network’s specialist content agency The Story Lab (TSL) has expanded its footprint by setting shop in India and has roped in Sunil Kumaran as country head.

    Based out of Mumbai, Kumaran will be guided by Carat India MD Kartik Iyer, who is the executive sponsor for TSL. Prior to this, Kumaran was with Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd as chief strategy officer (CSO).

    Dentsu Aegis Network-South Asia CEO and chairman Ashish Bhasin said, “Content is an exciting space for us to be in. Clients are increasingly looking at how they can ‘influence’ the consumers more effectively than just increasing their ‘reach’ through traditional forms of advertising. We have been building various expertise centres within Denstu Aegis Network and TSL is a significant step towards consolidating our position as a Network, which delivers superior value to clients and partners. Also, this is a big step forward in helping us achieve our mission of being the second largest agency group by end 2017 in India, overturning for the first time the existing ranking which has historically been in place for over 80 years in India.”

    Iyer added, “An entity like TSL is the need of the hour as brands look to accelerate the effectiveness of their ecosystems through innovative content solutions that can deliver scale, engagement and advocacy. We are very happy to have Sunil Kumaran on board who brings with him years of strategic media planning experience and deep understanding of this space.”

    Kumaran said, “I’m very excited about this new initiative, which is based on the philosophy of providing a superior value proposition to clients. Media convergence has disrupted the traditional advertising-led marketing communications model and ‘Content’ is one of the most valuable assets within media companies’ and brands’ ecosystems. I am looking forward to doing some exciting work across brands within the Dentsu Aegis Network Group.”

  • L&K Saatchi & Saatchi hires Reliance Jio’s Meraj Hasan as VP – planning

    L&K Saatchi & Saatchi hires Reliance Jio’s Meraj Hasan as VP – planning

    MUMBAI: L&K Saatchi & Saatchi has named Meraj Hasan as vice president – planning.

     

    He joins the agency from Reliance Industries, where he was working on the company’s 4G service – Jio and will be based out of Mumbai.

     

    L&K Saatchi & Saatchi CEO and managing partner Anil S Nair said, “Meraj’s appointment is part of a significant ramp up in our strategic planning division. Our sincere attempt is to make each and every brand at L&K Saatchi & Saatchi a Lovemark and hence give it the highest possible strategic input.Meraj comes as a leader who will drive this agenda across as many brands in the Mumbai office.”

     

    Hasan added, “An opportunity to strategically steer some of the best global as well local brands in the country is what pulled me towards L&K Saatchi & Saatchi, when I wanted to do my ‘Gharwapsi’ of sorts to advertising. A few meetings with Anil and the gang and exposure to the rocking work that they are doing confirmed that this is perfect place to do so. We found our fit in each other.”

     

    “Today’s consumer isn’t just buying a brand, she is buying into cohesive and compelling storyline around the brand, irrespective of the platforms and Lovemarks is a fantastic way of doing so. The idea is to build an enthusiastic team of bright minds and tell such stories for our brand. I’m really looking forward to this gig,” he added.

     

    In his career spanning more than 15 years, Hasan has worked across agencies like Lowe Worldwide, Y&R, Ogilvy, TBWA and McCann.

  • Tata Starbucks appoints Sumi Ghosh as CEO

    Tata Starbucks appoints Sumi Ghosh as CEO

    MUMBAI: Tata Starbucks has appointed Sumi Ghosh as CEO with effect from 1 January, 2016. 

     

    The move comes in the wake of the company’s current CEO Avani Davda’s resignation. Davda has been instrumental in establishing the Tata Starbucks business and positioning Starbucks as the premier coffee house experience in India. 

     

    Tata Starbucks is a 50:50 joint venture between Starbucks Coffee company and Tata Global Beverages. The company said that Davda made the personal decision to pursue other opportunities and accordingly resigned from her current assignment as CEO. 

     

    Ghosh is an eight-year Starbucks partner and brings three decades of consumer retail experience.

     

    Since its entry in the Indian market in October 2012, Tata Starbucks has opened as many as 70 Starbucks stores across the country

  • Prakash Nathan starts his entrepreneurial journey with CineMArkets

    Prakash Nathan starts his entrepreneurial journey with CineMArkets

    Mumbai : Former  UTV Disney India  operations head and Vice president at UTV Motion Pictures Prakash Nathan is all set to roll out with his new venture CineMArkets Digital Solutions Private Limited. Along with co-founders Girish Kumar and Inkswipe Consulting LLP, Prakash Nathan’s new project is India’s first and very own digital market place for the media and entertainment industry that aims to eradicate the loopholes of the rapidly growing film industry by engaging the content creators, producers and the vendors & service providers under one umbrella. CineMArkets is a dynamic new-age digital platform, which will thrive to engulf the entire media and entertainment industry with its B2B and B2C offerings. As a part of its B2B services, CineMArkets will be a platform, which unifies all stakeholders of the M&E spectrum including content creators and content producers.

     

    The platform will help to transform the current production cycles by bringing in transparency and aid in reducing wastage at multiple stages, eventually making it more profitable for the producer. The process is promised to be as simple as, anyone can visit the portal and help himself with the requirements to create any Media and Entertainment related profile. There is also a revenue model fashioned in a way that will help filmmakers to reduce the waste, instead gain out of it.

     

    Joining hands in this mammoth of an initiative is Inkswipe Consuting LLP, the renowned experts in building such platforms for media, finance and technology, famous for their projects such as Mid-day, Bollywood Hungama, Kolkata Knight Riders, Red chillies and Football Club Pune city.

     

    Describing his just launched brainchild, which is in its Beta stage, Prakash shares, “It’s a market place for Media & Entertainment on the web that will enable sourcing capabilities for producers, line producers and content creators. It will not only facilitate creation, production but also syndication and the entire value chain of film and television content creation. Our mission is to enable seamless media creation, convergence and consumption. We, at CineMArkets, are really excited and sure that this venture will revolutionize the M&E industry.”

     

    With a strong team that consists of media influencers and terrific media managers who have been veterans in the entertainment industry, CineMArkets is sure to ring all the right bells and become the household name for a majority of Indian families.

  • J. Walter Thompson India promotes Senthil Kumar as CCO

    J. Walter Thompson India promotes Senthil Kumar as CCO

    MUMBAI: J. Walter Thompson has promoted Senthil Kumar as chief creative officer (CCO) for India.

     

    Kumar was most recently JWT India national creative director (NCD) for South and has been  the agency for the last 15 years. 

     

    JWT South Asia CEO Tarun Rai said, “It’s a new world of communication. Creativity is no longer only about the 30-second TVC but has to work across various platforms. For this new world of communication, I needed a new age creative chief – someone who thinks digital first. Senthil is extremely talented, is focused on work and always leads from the front. His passion for excellence and his boundless energy is infectious. He will partner me in raising the bar of our creative product, building our clients’ brands and attracting the best talent in the industry.”

     

    Kumar added, “I am thrilled to lead J. Walter Thompson India as its CCO. The opportunity to partner Tarun in steering India’s largest agency into the future, challenges and motivates me. Am proud of our current creative firepower across the country and our collective ambition will be to spearhead marketing success stories for our clients with world-beating ideas. The way forward is not just language-neutral and media-agnostic ideas, but to invent platform-specific creative solutions that solve business problems.”

     

    “The journey is never over in this business of ideas as we continue to push harder on the creative front and attract the best talent from within and outside the industry. Our creativity should leap from deep human insight and be driven by ‘Curiosity’ and ‘Collaboration’ while we build our ‘Capability’ to generate ideas that engage with millions of consumers,” he further said.

     

    J. Walter Thompson worldwide chief creative officer Matt Eastwood said, “Senthil is the definition of a modern ideator and leader who thrives on constantly exploring the power of new technologies and platforms to create truly pioneering work. His boundless energy and enthusiasm for his craft, clients and employees alike, will serve him well in guiding and building our creative brand in the region.”

  • Ogilvy & Mather ups Anthony Wong as worldwide effectiveness director

    Ogilvy & Mather ups Anthony Wong as worldwide effectiveness director

    MUMBAI: Ogilvy & Mather (O&M) has promoted Anthony Wong as worldwide effectiveness director effective 4 January, 2016.

     

    This will be a dual role for Wong, who is based in Hong Kong, and is also global client leader for TeamHW – WPP’s bespoke agency team that looks after Huawei’s marketing and communications around the world. 

     

    O&M global chairman and CEO Miles Young said, “Earlier this year we mourned the death of Tim Broadbent who had held this position since 2009. I feel in my heart that no one would be more pleased than Tim by Anthony’s elevation. Tim taught Anthony all he could about everything he knew, and he is the perfect example of the type of intelligent and thinking leader we need in our business.”

     

    Wong’s new position will see him championing Ogilvy’s effectiveness culture, and working with both clients and respective global account teams to develop more effective communications. In his previous position as president of global brand management for the network in Asia Pacific, he won more than 30 effectiveness awards, including three IPAs in London, the first and second ever IPA wins from China, in addition to the first ever IPA win from Malaysia.

     

    Wong said, “Effectiveness in communications needs to be as scientific of an investment as any other decision in the boardroom for brands today. I’m both honoured and thrilled to have this opportunity to work with clients and colleagues to create the new strategies our industry needs to evolve marketing effectiveness forward.”

  • WPP’s Kantar Health acquires consulting company in Czech Republic

    WPP’s Kantar Health acquires consulting company in Czech Republic

    MUMBAI: WPP’s Kantar Health has acquired CEEOR, a specialist research and consulting company in the Czech Republic. 

     

    Founded in 2006 and based in Prague, with offices in Slovakia and Hungary, CEEOR is a research and consulting organisation specialising in analytical services for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and healthcare industries in Europe and beyond. It has a market-leading reputation as a customer-oriented and technology-focused market intelligence provider. CEEOR’s core business is centered on commercial effectiveness activities, electronic data collection, and real-world research studies, including epidemiology and health outcomes. 

     

    Through this acquisition, Kantar Health will further strengthen its capabilities in the commercial effectiveness field, helping clients to better optimise decisions in marketing and sales, investments, timing and targeting. 

     

    CEEOR’s consolidated revenues for the year ended 31 December, 2014 were €1.6 million, with gross assets of €0.7 million as at the same date. 

     

    In Central and Eastern Europe the Group (including associates) generates revenues of almost $600 million and employs over 6,000 people. In the Czech Republic, the Group (including associates) generates revenues of almost $100 million and employs around 1,000 people. 

     

    Kantar generates revenues of almost $5 billion (including associates) and employs over 34,000 people. 

  • Dentsu Webchutney hires Havas’ Gaurav Soi as EVP

    Dentsu Webchutney hires Havas’ Gaurav Soi as EVP

    MUMBAI: Dentsu Aegis’ digital agency Dentsu Webchutney, has appointed Gaurav Soi to head its new business operations, nationally as executive vice president (EVP).

     

    Soi will report to Dentsu Webchutney CEO Sidharth Rao. He joins the agency from Havas Worldwide, Mumbai where he was senior vice president. 

     

    As part of his new mandate, Soi will identify and channelise new opportunities for the agency across its offices in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru.

    On his appointment, Soi said, “The most commonly used word in conversations today is digital. It is no longer the future. It is here and now! Denstu Webchutney has a proven track record and is associated with very prestigious brands. Known for its quality product and forward thinking, I am extremely proud to be a part of this team. The company is aggressively focusing on growth; and yet, we will need to retain the quality of our product across client offerings. It is this balance that will make the road ahead a very exciting one.” 

    Rao added, “Dentsu Webchutney has now entered its next phase of growth and it’s absolutely essential for us that we use the right kind of experiences to steer this growth forward. Gaurav comes in with immense experience and exposure across clients and categories. And his appointment will only further catalyse the strength that already holds the Dentsu Webchutney fort so strong. I am extremely happy to welcome him on board.” 

    With more than 15 years of experience, Soi has worked with agencies including The Grey Group, Mumbai, Ambience Publicis, Metal Communications and Havas Worldwide. He has also been part of the events and activations industry through Line Communications.

  • Praveen Sathaye to lead operations at FoxyMoron Gurgaon

    Praveen Sathaye to lead operations at FoxyMoron Gurgaon

    MUMBAI: FoxyMoron has roped in Praveen Sathaye to spearhead its Gurgaon office to strengthen the existing client roster and driving the agency’s growth plans for the market.

     

    In his previous role, Sathaye was leading the in-house creative agency at Ericsson.

     

    FoxyMoron co-founder Pratik Gupta said, “We are thrilled to have Praveen on board. For us this signals, the beginning of a new growth story at FoxyMoron Gurgaon. While we have a lot of new businesses in the pipeline, we needed someone like Praveen, with a proven track record and wealth of diverse experience with leading brands and agencies, who brings a marketing perspective to a digital setup. This will not only help our growth agenda, but will also contribute immensely to FoxyMoron’s expansion in the North.”

     

    On his new role, Sathaye added, “I’m excited to work with some real creative geniuses who want to take the digital and creative space to greater heights. In my role at FoxyMoron, I see myself working towards synergising energies of digital and brands to build solutions for the future. The intent is also to ramp up the capacity here and address newer industries as well as clients.”