ITV

Category: People

  • MRUC elects Ushodaya Enterprises director I Venkat as chairman

    MRUC elects Ushodaya Enterprises director I Venkat as chairman

    MUMBAI: Ushodaya Enterprises director I Venkat has been elected as the chairman of Media Research Users Council (MRUC) for a period of two years.

     

    Venkat will replace GroupM South Asia CEO CVL Srinivas.

     

    The decision was taken by MRUC board of directors at its 21st annual general meeting held on 25 September, 2015.

     

    Additionally, HDFC Life senior executive vice president Sanjay Tripathy has taken over from Multi Screen Media president Rohit Gupta as the new MRUC vice chairman.

     

    MRUC CEO Shaswati Saradar has decided to move on after handling the Council for a span of five years and Radhesh Uchil has been nominated as the new MRUC CEO.

     

    DDB Mudra Group executive director N P Sathyamurthy, who earlier headed the Marketing Committee as the chairman, has replaced Paritosh Joshi as chairman of the Technical Committee. 

     

    Spatial Access CEO Nikhil Rangnekar has been named as the new chairman of the Marketing Committee. 

     

    Srinivas and Joshi will serve as mentors for the Council.

  • Leo Burnett ropes in Amritraj Thakur as VP – planning

    Leo Burnett ropes in Amritraj Thakur as VP – planning

    MUMBAI: Leo Burnett has appointed Amritraj Thakur as vice-president- planning at its Delhi office.

     

    In his new role, Thakur will work closely with Leo Burnett executive vice president – integrated strategy planning Antony Rajkumar in sharpening the agency’s strategic focus on key clients.

     

    Thakur started his career in advertising in 1999 and soon left the industry to become a specialist in the consulting space. He moves back to advertising with Leo Burnett after a long hiatus, and having worked with many multinational clients in diverse areas such as strategy planning, business analysis, consumer research, etc.

     

    He joins from Intellecap Consulting India where he worked as associate vice president.

     

    Leo Burnett India North president Samir Gangahar said, “Amritraj comes with rich experience in communications and more recently in consultancy. In him, we have found a strategist who has the ability to grasp business problems and think through compelling solutions that will add value to clients’ businesses. In his experience of over 15 years, he has acted as the change enabler for many clients across industries. I’m sure his strength in strategy and business analysis will prove to be an incredible asset to us.”

     

    Leo Burnett India executive strategy planning Antony Rajkumar added, “Amritraj has spent a large part of his career in the consulting space, solving complex business problems for both Indian and International clients. That experience coupled with his temperament, natural intelligence and passion to study and influence human behaviour, will add tremendous value to our clients’ businesses, and thus for the agency itself. It’s great to have someone like him on the team.”

     

    Thakur said, “Leo Burnett’s outlook on how the client’s business is evolving and the role communication companies can play in the change is spot on. I’m truly excited to be a part of the team that believes in defining the purpose brands and creating targeted and meaningful conversations with consumers. After having worked in the consulting space for more than 10 years, I was looking to get back to advertising. I would be foolish to have missed the Leo Burnett opportunity, as it has in its team some of the finest strategic thinkers in the country.”

     

    Over the years Thakur has worked with Unilever, Bosch, NCSoft, RDF Media, Danone, in designing new market entry strategies, implementing sustainable business models, managing marketing and communication requirements and new product launches.

  • Leo Burnett hires Sachin Das Burma as group ECD

    Leo Burnett hires Sachin Das Burma as group ECD

    MUMBAI: Leo Burnett India has hired Sachin Das Burma as group executive creative director at its Delhi office.

     

    Speaking on his appointment, Leo Burnett India North president Samir Gangahar said, “We are delighted to welcome Burma. With an impressive track-record of creating path-breaking integrated communication across categories and the hunger to do a lot more, I’m excited to see him craft ideas that impact consumer behaviour and solve business problems across our portfolio of brands.”

     

    Leo Burnett India chief creative officer RajDeepak Das added, “In Sachin we have found a leader who has the ability to keep things simple and connect every piece to a human truth. His ideology and working style is ideal to drive innovation and integration in the communication process. I’m sure Sachin’s inclusion will significantly enhance our capability of solving our clients’ problems by creating new age work based on strong consumer insights.”

     

    Burma said, “Leo Burnett has a great history of fantastic work that has built so many big brands. My aim will be to uphold the creative standards and make sure that the legacy of the agency continues. And hopefully, I would be able to add value, new business and awards. I look forward to be part of an exciting team. There is a new way of thinking at Leo Burnett and I hope to learn and contribute.”

     

    He joins from Draft FCB Ulka where he was group creative director and has also worked with Contract Advertising, Bates India and JWT.

  • Sidharth Malhotra named New Zealand’s tourism ambassador for India

    Sidharth Malhotra named New Zealand’s tourism ambassador for India

    MUMBAI: Actor Sidharth Malhotra has been named as New Zealand’s tourism ambassador for India.

     

    The actor will get his first taste of New Zealand next week before beginning his new role. A keen nature lover, traveller and extreme explorer Malhotra says he wants to experience everything a destination has to offer and he has an action packed itinerary during his visit here.

     

    Malhotra’s last movie Brothers released last month and he is currently working on two more films.

     

    As part of his stay in New Zealand, Malhotra will film a video highlighting New Zealand’s scenery, adrenalin packed activities and cultural experiences that will be incorporated into Tourism New Zealand’s campaign work in India. He will also deliver messages about safe driving, encouraging Indian visitors to take care on New Zealand roads.

     

    Tourism New Zealand director of trade, PR and major events René de Monchy said, “Being able to work with someone like Sidharth Malhotra is another fantastic opportunity for Tourism New Zealand. We know from past experience of working with celebrities like China’s Huang Lei and actress Yao Chen, their influence through popular culture, particularly through social media channels is enormous.”

     

    Monchy added, “India is an important emerging market for New Zealand. We saw a surge of interest from Indian visitors as a result of the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup and I am sure the appointment of Sidharth as our ambassador will further add to that interest.”

     

    From 11-19 October Malhotra will visit Northland, Wellington and Queenstown.

  • Kantar appoints Efrain Ribeiro as chief research officer

    Kantar appoints Efrain Ribeiro as chief research officer

    MUMBAI: WPP’s data investment management arm Kantar has appointed Efrain Ribeiro as its chief research officer (CRO), effective 1 November.

     

    Ribeiro takes over the role from Renee Smith, who is leaving to join the Colorado-based research company GutCheck.

     

    He was previously CRO of Kantar subsidiary Lightspeed Research.

     

    As Kantar CRO, he will drive both quality and innovation across its 12 operating companies, especially in the fast-developing area of mobile research, and act as a catalyst for collaboration with the operating company teams on the development of new products and solutions.

     

    Kantar president Wayne Levings said, “In Efrain, we have the ideal replacement for Renee. He has almost 40 years of experience and will be able to both pick up and continue to drive our research agenda, which includes putting mobile first and bringing technology to the heart of what we do.”

     

    “I’d like to thank Renee for her valuable contribution over the past five years. She has been an inspirational CRO and a very popular colleague and we all wish her well for the future,” Levings added.

  • Helios Media elevates Shrutish Maharaj as chief sales officer

    Helios Media elevates Shrutish Maharaj as chief sales officer

    MUMBAI: Helios Media has promoted Shrutish Maharaj as chief sales officer. 

    He has been a part of the company’s core team since its inception four years ago.

     

    In the new role, Maharaj will be responsible for spearheading the revenue and content marketing functions at Helios. He has about 12 years of experience and has earlier worked with organisations like India Today Group, HT Media Ltd, Network 18, UTV News ltd and Times Group in various capacities.

     

    Maharaj said, “The last four years haven’t been the easiest but surely most exciting and enriching. We have created benchmarks and then recreated them. We are constantly redefining the way people approach media sales and it’s most satisfying to see larger networks counting on us as experts of specialty products. We have built this team of handpicked people for whom sales is a passion; more than just a career and I would say our people are our biggest assets. I am definitely thrilled at this development and am geared up for all the challenges and opportunities coming our way this year.”

     

    Helios Media currently handles revenue mandate for MTunes HD, Living Foodz, Epic TV, Music F Fatafati, food vertical of Femina (WWM Group), Fashion TV in exclusive capacity.

     

    Apart from the above he will also lead Brand Chef, which is an indigenous initiative by Helios connecting the brand, consumer and content in the food domain.

     

    Commenting on Maharaj’s appointment, Helios Media managing director Divya Radhakrishnan said, “I am glad that the reins are now in the right hands and Shrutish will continue to make us proud. His organisational pride of wearing the Helios Spirit on his sleeve has been heartening and also infectious.”

     

    Helios Media COO Bala Iyengar added, “Shrutish is a perfect example of what it takes to sprint your way to this coveted position, which was waiting for him to occupy. The right persona that a rapidly growing organization likes ours is what Shrutish has worked towards developing and successfully at that.”

  • Reliance Industries names Karthik Lakshminarayan as VP of Vibrant Media

    Reliance Industries names Karthik Lakshminarayan as VP of Vibrant Media

    MUMBAI: Reliance Industries’ in-house agency Vibrant Media has appointed Madison Media COO Karthik Lakshminarayan as vice president. 

     

    According to information available with Indiantelevision.com, Lakshminarayan’s role will encompass developing media strategy for Reliance Jio to begin with.

     

    He will report to Vibrant Media senior vice president Nikhil Dave and is likely to join the company in November. 

     

    Currently serving his notice period at Madison, Lakshminarayan joined the agency in November 2011 from FoodFood where he was COO.

     

    At the time of filing this report, Lakhminarayan was not available for comment.

  • Viacom Asia ropes in WPP’s Added Value finance director Lee Shin Yng as CFO

    Viacom Asia ropes in WPP’s Added Value finance director Lee Shin Yng as CFO

    MUMBAI: Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) Asia has appointed Lee Shin Yng as chief financial officer (CFO).

     

    In this position, Yng will be based in Singapore, and reports directly to VIMN Asia COO Tan Chee Kiat.

     

    With 16 years of accounting and finance experience, Yng was mostly recently the finance director for Greater China at Added Value Limited, a part of the WPP Group.

     

    She will drive Asia’s financial strategies and performance and will be responsible for the company’s financial reporting and planning. Yng will also serve as a business partner to VIMN Asia EVP and MD Mark Whitehead and Kiat, providing financial guidance and counsel on the company’s strategic direction.

     

    “Shin Yng’s extensive regional experience and acute financial acumen provide her with a deep understanding of the Asian markets we operate in, making her well prepared to take up this important leadership of Asia’s financial operations,” said Kiat. “I am confident she will help build upon the strong progress we have made over the past year, to help make many contributions to further VIMN Asia’s success in the future.”

     

    Prior to Added Value Limited, she spent seven years with the Reed Elsevier Group where she last served as the finance director for Greater China in the LexisNexis division of the Group. Her previous assignments included holding office as the financial controller for China within the same division and as the business controller for Asia Pacific and Japan in the Elsevier division.

     

    She previously held roles in public listed companies such as Neptune Orient Line Ltd and United Overseas Bank.

  • Srinivasan Swamy re-elected as IAA president for the fourth time

    Srinivasan Swamy re-elected as IAA president for the fourth time

    MUMBAI: RK Swamy Hansa group chairman Srinivasan Swamy has been re-elected as International Advertising Association (IAA) India chapter president for the fourth consecutive term.

     

    Swamy, who also holds the post of IAA Asia Pacific vice president development, was elected at the body’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 30 September.

     

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com Swamy says, “IAA in India is already seen as the most active industry body. We will build further on our strength and bring more programs and initiatives that will be embraced by the industry.”

     

    “I am humbled by the confidence shown by the members in choosing me to head this international body in India. The last three years have been exciting in that we demonstrated to the marketing and advertising community through the initiatives and events we held that IAA is a thought leader in many respects. Further the awards that we have instituted were both relevant and meaningful,” he further added.

     

    Hungama.com managing director & CEO Neeraj Roy was re-elected as the vice president for the third term. HBO India former MD Monica Tata was re-elected as secretary and Deshdoot Publications joint MD Janakl Sarda was elected as the treasurer.

     

    In addition, Abhishek Karnani, Vishakha Singh, Jaideep Gandhi, Anand Sankeshwar and Manish Advani were the five members elected as members of the managing committee. Kaushik Roy continues on the committee as the immediate past president.

     

    IAA Asia Pacific area director Pradeep Guha said, “The last few years have seen considerable momentum in terms of the activities IAA has been involved in. This has been reflected in the World Board recognising the India Chapter as the Best Chapter twice consecutively. I am delighted that Srinivasan Swamy will be steering the India Chapter of the IAA this year as well. It could be a period of continued growth as well as consolidation. The presence of young leaders on the managing committee augurs well for the future of the IAA.”

     

    At the first managing committee meeting immediately after the AGM, five additional members were co-opted as per IAA Constitution including M V Shreyams Kumar, Dr Bhaskar Das, Ashok Venkatramani, CVL Srinivas and Pradeep Dwivedi.

     

    Pradeep Guha, Ramesh Narayan, Sam Balsara, MG Parameswaran, Raj Nayak, Atit Mehta, Vikram Sakhuja and Kunal Lalani are the following senior professionals that were invited to be part of the Committee.

  • L&K Saatchi & Saatchi hires Rajeev Rakshit as president – North; ups Sanjeev Gauba

    L&K Saatchi & Saatchi hires Rajeev Rakshit as president – North; ups Sanjeev Gauba

    MUMBAI: As part of the organisation’s restructuring in Delhi, Law & Kenneth Saatchi & Saatchi has appointed Rajeev Rakshit as president – North.

     

    On the other hand, the agency has promoted L&K Saatchi & Saatchi senior vice president – Delhi operations Sanjeev Gauba as executive vice president.

     

    Law & Kenneth Saatchi & Saatchi CEO and managing partner Anil Nair said, “Rajeev will focus on growing the branch and organically exploring growth opportunity with our key clients. Sanjeev Gauba, who was our senior vice president of Delhi operations, is going to focus more on consolidation with our largest businesses in Delhi and has been promoted to executive vice president. With these two senior resources spearheading Delhi, I’m sure Law & Kenneth Saatchi & Saatchi Delhi will be the fastest growing agency in the market.”

     

    Rakshit added, “With Delhi as a focus, the organisation has prioritised the office to be a key growth engine. With ambitious plans, I am looking forward to the challenges ahead. Also, with an extremely talented and motivated team already in place, this is a tremendous opportunity to manoeuvre it to greater success.”

     

    Armed with 25 years of experience, Rakshit has previously worked with companies like HMV Saregama, Orchard (Leo Burnett), Everest Y&R, Publicis, Euro RSCG, McCann and Bates Clarion.