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Category: People

  • Grey India appoints Shilpa Chitre as HR head

    Grey India appoints Shilpa Chitre as HR head

    MUMBAI: Grey group India has announced a senior level appointment for its department of Human Resources. Shilpa Chitre, whose mandate is to grow the agency’s talent strength and accelerate its human processes to deliver ‘Famous and Effective’ work for its clients, is the new Human Resources head. Chitre will report to Grey group India chairman and managing director Sunil Lulla. 

    With over 18 years of work experience across key HR areas including competency systems, talent acquisition and retention, performance management, strategic organisational policies and training, she has worked in several advertising agencies and corporate houses, actively partnering senior management. Until recently she was with Reliance Industries as HR vice president.

    On welcoming Chitre, Lulla stated, “I am deeply delighted to have Shilpa on board. She will partner me in driving new age processes to enhance our professional services and capabilities, across all our services, of advertising, activation, retail design and digital. I find Shilpa to be a very skilled, competent and articulate HR Professional, up to date with new HR trends including digital. She joins GREY group as it accelerates its growth in creating an integrated offering for its clients, poised to make brands of its clients brands truly Famous and Effective”.

     “I am delighted to return to the communications business at a time, when Grey group India is transforming itself. With all the growth ahead of us, I will leverage all my experiences, to help create an agency with a huge, competitive difference; via talent, skilling, processes, leadership and enormous passion,” she said on her new role at the agency.  

  • Orchard Advertising strengthens its creative team

    Orchard Advertising strengthens its creative team

    MUMBAI: Orchard Advertising, a part of the Leo Burnett Group, has strengthened its creative team with the appointment of Vinod Eshwer and Neel Roy Cruz as executive creative directors based at its Bengaluru office.

    The duo joins from McCann Bangalore and will report to Leo Burnett India CCO RajDeepak Das.

    Speaking on the appointment, Das said, “Our extensive 5-month hunt for a creative leadership team at Orchard Bangalore ended with Vinod and Neel, who are extremely talented individuals having a strong desire to produce new-age integrated work by thinking beyond traditional media and delivering conversations, acts, and experiences to help brands achieve their goals in the marketplace.”  

    Orchard Advertising CCO Kaizad Pardiwalla added, “Vinod and Neel coming on board to lead Orchard Bangalore’s creative team is a decisive step in making Orchard one of the best integrated communications company in India. Both are a highly talented  and celebrated team and their creative ideology is in sync with that of Orchard India’s i.e. to create acts based on strong ideas and insights which help bring alive the purpose of the brands and create a positive impact on our clients’ businesses.”

    The duo said, “When Raj revealed the agency’s plans and the journey it is embarking upon by handpicking talent and encouraging them to think beyond traditional media, and to communicate in new ways using digital and technology made us pack our bags and hop on board. We are truly living in exciting times where commerce and communication are being shaped and reshaped with every click and swipe. We have got e-butterflies in our bellies.”   

    Both Eshwer and Cruz have more than 15 years of advertising experience. Some of the brands that they have worked on together include TVS, Tata Beverages, Britannia and ITC.

     

  • Snehasis Bose joins L&K Saatchi & Saatchi

    Snehasis Bose joins L&K Saatchi & Saatchi

    MUMBAI: L&K Saatchi & Saatchi has appointed Snehasis Bose as senior vice president, planning.

    He will be operating from the Delhi office.

    Commenting on the appointment, L&K Saatchi & Saatchi chief strategy officer and managing partner Sandhya Srinivasan said, “We have been looking forward to strengthening our core competence, the strategic & knowledge discipline at L&K Saatchi & Saatchi. Snehasis fits in snugly into our culture which marries creative planning with business results. As the Head of Planning in our Delhi office he will not just drive the growth for brands & businesses there but also lead some inspiring initiatives that are national. We are really delighted have him on board to continue building our desire to stay audacious.”

    On his appointment Bose said, “Challengers, upstarts, cannot-be-explained, winners are some of the adjectives I had heard about L&K | Saatchi & Saatchi. And then they offered me an opportunity to experience this befuddling combination from the inside. I said ‘Yes!’’

    Bose comes with a rich experience of 18 years, and has worked with eminent agency networks like D Y Works (Formerly DMA networks), PQR Mumbai, Publicis Ambience, McCann, JWT Kolkata, Bates Kolkata and Contract Advertising. Over the years Snehasis has lead key projects like Tata Docomo, Pepsi, Airtel, Fidelity Mutual Funds and many other renowned brands.

     

  • Gannett names Al Getler president and publisher of The Burlington (VT) Free Press

    Gannett names Al Getler president and publisher of The Burlington (VT) Free Press

    BENGALURU:  Gannett Co., Inc. (Gannett) has named Al Getler president and publisher of The Burlington (VT) Free Press. Getler previously served as group publisher of the North of Boston Media Group.
     
    Gannett is an international media and marketing solutions company that informs and engages more than 110 million people every month through its powerful network of broadcast, digital, mobile and publishing properties.
     
     
    “Al is a proven leader and outside-the-box thinker who has consistently increased revenues and profits,” said Gannett U.S. Community Publishing East group president Michael G Kane. “Al has a wide range of experiences within the business and his people skills and relationship building will not only be a great asset for The Burlington Free Press but for the community as well.”
     
    During his time as group publisher of the North of Boston Media Group, Getler oversaw The Eagle-Tribune as well as the creation and management of several magazines and digital properties. Prior to that role, Getler served as president and publisher of The Daily Star and Cooperstown Crier in central New York. He was also vice president of readership for the Community Newspaper Company in Framingham, MA.
     
    Getler returns to Gannett where he spent nearly a decade with the Newspaper Network of Central Ohio, working in various marketing and circulation roles as well as publisher of The Advocate. Getler has also worked for The Record in Troy, NY, The Press of Atlantic City (NJ) and the North Jersey Media Group.

     

  • Leo Burnett India appoints Aman Mannan as group ECD

    Leo Burnett India appoints Aman Mannan as group ECD

    MUMBAI: Leo Burnett India has appointed Aman Mannan as group executive creative director. Mannan will be based at Leo Burnett India’s head office in Mumbai and will work closely with Leo Burnett India chief creative officer RajDeepak Das towards creating work that strongly reflects the agency’s human kind philosophy.  

    Speaking on his appointment, Das said, “I am really excited about Aman joining us as this further strengthens our creative team that is not only young but also extremely talented. Aman brings with him a lot of positive energy and newer ways of storytelling that will help us find the right solutions to our clients’ problems.”

    Mannan added, “This really is an exciting time to be part of Leo Burnett India. I look forward to working with both RajDeepak and Saurabh to create a wave of new age integrated work.”  

    Mannan joins from DDB Mudra where he was executive creative director. Prior to DDB Mudra, he has had stints with McCann Erickson and Interface Communications. In a career that spans more than a decade, he has worked across categories on brands such as Union Bank of India, Future Group, Godrej No. 1, Lipton, HBO, ICICI Lombard, Saffola, Parachute, Onida, Nerolac, Radio Mirchi, Tata Indicom, NDTV, Mahindra and Mahindra (Scorpio, Bolero, Maxx), Nerolac and Blue Star to name a few.

    Mannan’s work has won him accolades in both international and national circuits including the prestigious Cannes, Emvies, London International Awards, Abbys and Mirchi Kaan Awards.

     

  • MobiKwik appoints Mrinal Sinha as head of strategy

    MobiKwik appoints Mrinal Sinha as head of strategy

    MUMBAI: MobiKwik, mobile wallet with 12 million users has roped in former Brattle Foods founder and executive director Mrinal Sinha as head of strategy.  He will be helming the strategic roadmap with the management, identifying key opportunities for talent and technology acquisition, fostering crucial alliances and kick starting new revenue lines within the company.

    MobiKwik founder CEO Bipin Preet Singh said: “We, at MobiKwik, are well-poised for the next stage of growth. Having established the brand as the leading mobile wallet in the country, we are now looking at strategic expansion and diversification. Sinha will play a pivotal role in our further evolution thanks to his years of business development and corporate strategy experience across domains. We are pleased to have him on board.”

    Sinha opined: “MobiKwik has firmly positioned itself as a leader in the digital wallets space with a culture of excellence and technology-enabled user convenience. I am excited to join the team at this stage and be a part of its growth story. My objective will be to leverage my education and experience to chart out the expansion strategy for the company, form key partnerships with banks, device makers and other payments companies. I am also looking forward to identifying new business lines for MobiKwik and set the ball rolling for the same in the near future.”  

    Singh has a dual degree (Master’s and Bachelor’s in Technology) from IIT-Madras. He also has a Master’s in Business Administration from Harvard Business School, USA. He has diverse and prolific experience of working in globally-renowned organisations such as McKinsey and Company, Michael and Susan Dell Foundation and EMC Corporation.

    MobiKwik has been witnessing tremendous growth with an exploding user base and partnerships with leaders in all e-commerce categories. The key appointments in the organisation are designed to contribute significantly to MobiKwik’s further expansion plans.     

     

  • Milind Naik joins Pepper Media as Tech director

    Milind Naik joins Pepper Media as Tech director

     MUMBAI: Milind Naik, the former Star and Widen Cricinfo CTO, has been roped in by Pepper Media as technology director.

    Pepper Media, a multi-channel network (MCN) on YouTube, floated by former founder and CEO of iStream.com, Radhakrishnan Ramachandran. iStream.com was a premium video-on-demand service launched in 2011 with backing from SAIF Partners.

    “If you are looking at building a sustainable business model in the MCN space, technology will be one of the key accelerators. We are looking at marrying brands with content concepts and we need to see brand managers looking at online videos as a cost effective and powerful alternative to TV. Technology will play that key role in simplifying the model for brand managers, by helping them analyse the impact of their video campaigns on platforms like YouTube,” said Ramachandran

    Naik has over 22 years of experience. This includes an entrepreneurial stint; when he launched Pappilon, one of the earliest mobile application development companies. He then launched an analytics firm specialising in buying patterns and consumer analytics for brands for the international markets.

    “With videos being watched more on multi devices, it is imperative for brands to maximise on the same, the likes, dislikes, what is trending is yet to be captured in a 360 degree and that is the aim here at Pepper Media.  I am excited to be part of a team that has been pioneers in the online video space. Metrics for consumer analytics on video is the next big thing. Technology analytics are faster and accurate as people are moving towards a more expressive form of personal views. For technology to make a difference it is the collective intelligence of the team which matters the most and that is what I see here at Pepper Media,” said Naik.

     

  • WPP appoints Roberto Quarta as chairman-designate

    WPP appoints Roberto Quarta as chairman-designate

    MUMBAI: WPP plc has appointed Roberto Quarta to its board as a non-executive director and chairman-designate. He will join the board on 1 January 2015 and will offer himself for re-election at the company’s Annual General Meeting to be held in June 2015. Subject to his re-election, he will be appointed chairman to succeed Philip Lader, who joined the board as chairman in 2001.

    Quarta is chairman of Smith & Nephew plc, a FTSE 100 global medical technology company, and chairman of IMI plc, a FTSE 250 engineering business. He is also a partner at the private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice and a non-executive director at Spie SA. Previously, he was chief executive and then chairman of BBA Group plc, Rexel SA chairman  and BAE Systems plc,  Equant NV, Foster Wheeler AG and PowerGen plc non-executive director.

    In the Company’s last Annual Report issued in April 2014, Lader announced his plan to step down as chairman at the close of 2014. The WPP board has requested that he continue until such time as Quarta steps down as Chairman of IMI plc.

    Lader said, “Roberto brings to WPP extensive, diverse experience in corporate governance and global commerce. This completes our refreshment of the board, which over the last three years has seen the appointment of 10 internationally recognized business leaders from four continents and the phased retirement of long-serving directors.”

    CEO Sir Martin Sorrell commented, “Following an exhaustive search, the Board has chosen Roberto to be its next Chairman, as his experience and background complement and will help develop WPP’s strategy in new markets, in new media, in data investment management and the application of technology and, last but not least, horizontality.”

    Quarta commented, “It is a great honour to join the board of WPP, a global leader in its field and an outstanding success story in British business. I look forward to working with the Board to help the company as it continues to build leadership positions in the fast changing media markets.”

    No disclosure obligations arise under paragraphs (1) to (6) of LR 9.6.13 R of the UK Listing Authority’s Listing Rules in respect of this appointment.

    Full details of Quarta’s remuneration arrangements will be given in the Directors’ Remuneration Report 2014.

    The transition in the chairman’s role will occur, if Quarta has resigned from the IMI board as anticipated, immediately at the close of WPP’s June AGM or thereafter upon such resignation.

    Quarta will be appointed to serve as a member of the Nomination and Governance Committee and the Compensation Committee.

    In the 14-year period Lader has served as chairman, WPP’s billings have grown from ?14 billion to ?46.2 billion, PBIT from ?378 million to ?1.583 billion, dividend per share from 3.75p to 34.21p, the dividend pay-out ratio from 13 per cent to 42 per cent. The shares have risen from 829p to 1313p, the market capitalisation from ?9.1 billion to ?17.3 billion and the number of employees (including associates) from 65,000 to 177,000.

  • Henkel appoints Manish Dave as business director

    Henkel appoints Manish Dave as business director

    MUMBAI:  Henkel Adhesive Technologies, a subsidiary of Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, Germany and the market leader in adhesives, sealants and surface treatments has appointed Manish Dave as business director of Automotive & Metals for Henkel in India. With a career spanning over twenty years, Manish has in-depth knowledge and expertise in the automotive industry.

     

    As the Business Director for Automotive & Metals in Henkel in India, Manish Dave will be responsible for the Sales and Technical Service. He will be closely working with global teams and Germany to develop and execute various initiatives geared towards sustainable, energy efficient, light weight solutions for the Automotive and Metals market in India.

     

    Jeremy Hunter, President, Henkel Group India, said, “We are pleased to have Manish Dave on board and we are confident that with his experience and technical expertise in the automotive industry, he will create a significant impact within the organization and in the industry.”

     

    Manish recently moved to India after spending twenty three years in the United States of America. He has been a part of Henkel based in Detroit for the last seven years. Before joining Henkel India, Manish has worked with PPG Industries in numerous management roles working on various technology segments.

     

    Manish holds a Master’s Degree in Polymer Chemistry from University of Detroit Mercy, Michigan, USA.

  • Mahesh Narayanan joins Tonic Media’s advisory board

    Mahesh Narayanan joins Tonic Media’s advisory board

    Mumbai: Digital agency Tonic Media has appointed of Mahesh Narayanan to its advisory board. Formerly with Google India as Mobile country head, Narayanan is credited with taking mobile advertising in India to the next level and also seen as one of the pioneers in the digital media space.

    Commenting on the new appointment, Tonic Media CEO Chetan Asher said, “Tonic has been growing at an incredible momentum and it is time we took it to the next level with a vision of dominating the digital space. We are honored to have someone of Mahesh’s stature bringing his invaluable experience. Together, we can add value to our clients’ businesses with new brand-building strategies.”

    Narayanan comes with over 15 years of experience across businesses in the mobile, adtech and consumer internet spaces. Speaking on this development, he stated, “Tonic Media has been successful in establishing themselves as a digital powerhouse with a great roster of clients across various industries. I look forward to sharing my technology and digital advertising experience with the Tonic team to help them become market-leaders.”

    Narayanan has held various senior leadership positions across global technology media companies such as Google, AdMob and Sociomantic. He spent seven years at Google India as the founding member of Google India’s direct sales operations in 2005 and helped lay the architecture for the growth of Google in India. He joined AdMob as the Country Manager for India in 2009 and moved back to Google after the acquisition of AdMob.

    He was named the Mobile Marketing Person of the Year at the Indira Marketing Excellence awards in 2011 and has also been featured in the Digital Power 100 list as one of the icons of India’s Digital ecosystem in 2012 by Impact – a leading advertising, media and marketing publication.