ITV

Category: People

  • PVR Cinemas ropes in Dharmesh Datta

    PVR Cinemas ropes in Dharmesh Datta

    MUMBAI: PVR Cinemas has appointed Dharmesh Datta as vice president for its alternate content vertical. He commenced his new role from 23 June 2014 and will be based out of Mumbai.

     

    Datta brings with him an experience of over 16 years, having worked in organisations such as Wizcraft International Entertainment, Lintas India, The Times of India Group, Network18 (TV18 Group) and Endemol India. At PVR, he will focus on developing and executing a strategy to stimulate ‘event cinema’ i.e. alternate content initiative.

     

    PVR Pictures President Kamal Gianchandani said, “We are pleased to welcome Dharmesh to the PVR family. His extensive experience in serving large businesses, building properties and consumer insights will be invaluable as we aim to take a step further and go beyond movies to showcase other forms of compelling content at our cinemas. Dharmesh adds the necessary leadership and depth, as we continue to explore new and more meaningful ways to engage our patrons.”

     

    PVR Pictures vice president alternate content Dharmesh Datta said, “I am very excited to be a part of the largest multiplex chain in India. PVR is the most respected name in the film exhibition industry and is known for bringing world acclaimed cinematic content to its viewers in the country. Designing a strategy to monetise alternate revenue streams and building on differentiated properties for PVR will definitely be an exciting proposition for me.”

  • Lifesize anoints Gagan Verma as regional director

    Lifesize anoints Gagan Verma as regional director

    NEW DELHI:  Gagan Verma has been appointed as regional director for India and SAARC region for Lifesize, a division of Logitech and supplier in the field of HD video communication.

     

    Heading Lifesize operations for the region, Verma will be closely working with, Lifesize international VP Andreas Wienold.

     

    Wienold said, “We are pleased to make this announcement welcoming Gagan on board Lifesize. India is a critical market, one that’s poised to see rapid growth with increasing technology adoption amongst consumers and enterprises. We are confident Gagan will provide the strategic leadership direction for the company in India and SAARC region.”

     

    Verma comes on board with over 15 years of industry experience and has in the past held leadership positions in leading telecom peripheral companies in India including TANDBERG (acquired by Cisco), Cisco, Codian, Avaya Global Connect and GTL. His new role will require him to drive business growth, extend partnerships, increase channel expansion and accelerate the company’s foothold across India and SAARC region.

     

    “From inception, Lifesize has had a vision to change the way people communicate and do business. Through persistent innovation Lifesize fulfills that dream every day. My goal is to make visual communication a part of everyday business collaboration. I’m looking forward to continuously driving growth and innovation within both the company and the video communications industry, bringing quality visual communication to anyone, anywhere,” said Verma.

     

    Prior to joining Lifesize, Verma was associated with Polycom India for more than three years leading the government and public sector business and was also heading its enterprise business for the northern region.

  • Cheil Worldwide SW Asia reinforces digital offering

    Cheil Worldwide SW Asia reinforces digital offering

    MUMBAI: In a move to strengthen its digital presence, Cheil Worldwide SW Asia (Cheil India) has appointed digital domain specialist, Rahul Nanda as senior vice president new business digital.

     

    Nanda, moves from Web Chutney where he was partner & president, until it was acquired by Denstu India. He comes with more than 19 years of experience and expertise across various sectors including digital marketing, application development, mobile communications, DTH including an ISP.

     

    Reporting to Cheil Worldwide SW Asia SVP & head digital Rajesh Bhatia, Nanda will lead the growth and expansion of the agency’s integrated media offering as well as enhance its internal digital capabilities.

     

    Cheil Worldwide SW Asia COO Hari Krishnan said, “Cheil India is growing exponentially and with digital being a key quotient for new business acquisition, Rahul’s coming on board reflects this momentum. I am positive that his entrepreneurial genius will work in furthering our digitally-integrated vision.” 

     

     “With the scale and skill of our digital offering today, I believe, we are rightly positioned to aggressively take our proposition to a much wider audience base. And we needed someone of the stature and pedigree of Rahul to fulfill that agenda. I am delighted with his coming on board,” added Bhatia.

     

    Nanda who started his career with the National Informatics Centre as a management analyst said, “I find this new role to be about future-proofing the agency and creating a truly ‘digitally-integrated’ agency.”

     

    A techie at heart, Nanda is an Economics Graduate from Delhi University, and holds a Masters in Business Administration with a specialisation in IT from FORE School of Management.

  • CricHQ expands India executive team

    CricHQ expands India executive team

    MUMBAI: CricHQ, a cricket technology company is on an expansion spree. The company, which is looking at expanding its executive team in India has appointed Karthik Ramanujam as director of digital sales and marketing for the India market.

     

    Ramanujam brings with him over 16 years of experience in ad sales, content and digital marketing, with earlier stints at NDTV Media, Sony Entertainment Television, Ten Sports, Vdopia and Qyuki Digital Media. In his current role, he will support global sales and user acquisition for CricHQ’s online and mobile platforms.

     

    CricHQ CEO Simon Baker said, “We are very bullish about the Indian market opportunity and are building a strong team here to take full advantage of this opportunity. Karthik’s appointment is a significant boost for CricHQ’s India operations and it also sets the stage for more senior level hires in the near future.”

     

    The company plans to hire 15 professionals for its corporate office in Bangalore in the next few months, which are in addition to over 70 professionals currently employed in India. CricHQ currently has presence in Chennai and Kochi. The Chennai office has 50 employees engaged in product development and data capture and analysis; whereas the Kochi office focuses on CricHQ’s global operations. The company aims to expand its India head count to over 400 employees in the next three years.

  • MEC elevates Rahul Jadhav to national trading head

    MEC elevates Rahul Jadhav to national trading head

    MUMBAI: MEC has promoted Rahul Jadhav to national trading head.

     

    In his new role, he will be responsible for media investments across platforms and will report to MEC MD T Gangadhar, GroupM pricing & investments head Sidharth Parashar and MEC Asia Pacific trading head Michael Beecroft.

     

    Jadhav said, “I am deeply humbled – I thank MEC for recognising my work and providing me the opportunity to take on new responsibilities. I am very excited about working closely with our clients and making their investments work even harder”.

     

    In his previous role, Jadhav was head of media buying on Colgate Palmolive. He has been with MEC since 2010 and will continue to be based in Mumbai.

     

    Gangadhar said, “Trading is a massive differentiator for us and Rahul has the smarts to lead this critical function. He has an astute understanding of the media landscape and enjoys excellent relationships with our business partners. I wish him the very best in his new role”.

     

    Jadhav is a Bachelor in Engineering and holds an MBA degree from the University of Pune. Prior to joining MEC, he was product manager at Tata Motors. His career also includes a stint at Bajaj Tempo.

  • Verizon promotes Francis Yip to lead Asia-Pacific business

    Verizon promotes Francis Yip to lead Asia-Pacific business

    NEW DELHI: US telecom operator Verizon has made a change to its top management. Francis Yip has been promoted to group vice president of Verizon Asia Pacific. Most recently he was Verizon managing direct for north Asia, responsible for its business in Hong Kong, China, Korea and Taiwan.

     

    Verizon Enterprise Solutions president Christopher Formant said that in his new role, Yip is responsible for delivering strategic cloud, security, mobility, network and connected machines solutions to Verizon’s multinational enterprise clients across the APAC region.

     

    Formant said: “Francis is an exceptional talent, and we believe he has the experience and expertise to continue to grow our business in APAC. His leadership in north Asia in the past two years has earned him a first-class reputation for commercial acumen. His in-depth understanding of technology businesses in Asia, particularly in emerging markets, will be instrumental in helping our customers move their businesses forward.”

     

    Prior to joining Verizon, Yip was responsible for managing Dimension Data’s north Asia operations. He has also held senior management positions at Equant (now Orange Business Systems) including general manager for China. A native of Singapore, Yip is fluent in several languages including English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean and Malay.

     

    He replaces Andrew Dobbins, who announced his retirement earlier this month. Verizon Enterprise Solutions provides advanced IT and communications services to enterprise and governments around the world. 

  • Havas Media Group appoints Josh Gallagher as regional strategy director

    Havas Media Group appoints Josh Gallagher as regional strategy director

    MUMBAI: Havas Media Group has appointed Josh Gallagher as its regional strategy director. Based out of Singapore, he will report to Havas Media Group Asia Pacific chief strategy officer SK Biswas.

     

    In his new role, Gallagher will be responsible for driving offline and online strategy for the agency’s key clients including AXA, Emirates, LG Electronics and Shangri La Hotels. He will also lead the adoption of agency’s proprietary planning process Meaningful Connections Planning with an eye to deliver innovative solutions to new and existing clients.

     

    An integral part of his mandate is to propel the uptake of Havas Media Group’s Meaningful Brands research, a unique framework that analyses and tracks the connections brands have with quality of life and well-being of consumers.

     

    Gallanger said, “I had heard about Havas Media’s Meaningful Brands vision and found it very compelling. As brands enter the digital age it becomes critical for them to increase their meaningfulness quotient or they face the risk of extinction. The agency’s framework is a very unique roadmap for brands, as they embark on their journey to become meaningful and I feel privileged to have the opportunity to support this vision.”

     

    Gallanger joins the agency with 10 years of experience working with international media and digital agencies in Australia. Prior to this, he was with ZenithOptimedia Melbourne, where he worked as a communications strategist, driving strategy for Honda, Lion Nathan and Reckitt Benckiser. He has spent seven years with Universal McCann Brisbane, where he worked as client services and strategic director. He has also had a stint at digital agency Kruse Digital.

     

    Biswas said, “Josh is a very welcome addition to the regional strategy team. He has an unrelenting curiosity for uncovering consumer insights and is a champion of integration. He is one of those rare strategists, who have a hands on and practical experience of working on integrated strategies and expertise in both offline and digital communications planning processes.”

  • MEASAT elevates Alex Tan to senior sales director

    MEASAT elevates Alex Tan to senior sales director

     MUMBAI: MEASAT Satellite Systems (MEASAT) has elevated Alex Tan from sales director to senior sales director – Telecoms & VAS (Asia Pacific). In his new role, Tan will continue to lead the Asia -Pacific telecom’s sales team with focus on growing MEASAT’s business across the region.

     

     Tan joined MEASAT in 2008. During his six years with the satellite operator, Tan has raised MEASAT’s profile building relationships with leading telecom operators, oil & gas service providers, Malaysian GLCs (Government-Linked Companies) and VSAT operators.

     

     He has over 17 years of experience in the satellite and telecommunications industry. Prior to joining MEASAT, Tan served as senior regional manager, business development with SpeedCast, focusing on development of VSAT business within South East Asia, Indochina and Central Asia.

     

     Tan holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Electronic Engineering, majoring in telecommunications. He graduated with Honours (2nd Class Upper) from University of South Australia, Australia.

     

    In another development, MEASAT is all set to reveal its updated corporate image on 17 June 2014 during CommunicAsia. The revised corporate image, rooted in the previous branding introduced in 2006, introduces additional colors to reflect the changes in the organisation over the past eight years.

  • Twitter’s Ali Rowghani & Chloe Sladden step down

    Twitter’s Ali Rowghani & Chloe Sladden step down

    MUMBAI: In the last 24 hours, two senior members from micro blogging site Twitter have put in their papers. Along with COO Ali Rowghani the social media company’s head of media Chloe Sladden has also stepped down from his post.

     

    In a tweet, Rowghani said: “Goodbye Twitter. It’s been an amazing ride, and I will cherish the memories.”

     

    On the other hand, “Now it’s time for my next chapter. #staytuned #thankyou #sleep,” tweeted Sladden.

     

    According to PTI, Rowghani will however, continue to be an employee at Twitter acting as a strategic advisor to the CEO Dick Costolo. The report also mentioned that Twitter does not intend to hire a replacement for the COO role, and all of Rowghani’s operating responsibilities will be assumed by other members of the Twitter management team.

     

    However, Sladden’s next move is unknown.

  • Amar Chitra Katha appoints Sanjay Dhar as president – corporate solutions group

    Amar Chitra Katha appoints Sanjay Dhar as president – corporate solutions group

    MUMBAI: Amar Chitra Katha has appointed Sanjay Dhar as president, corporate solutions group. Dhar will be driving the new ‘value added brand solutions’ initiatives at Amar Chitra Katha which will combine the formidable creative resources, content capabilities and existing media properties like Amar Chitra Katha, Tinkle, National Geographic Magazine and National Geographic Traveller India, using all media verticals which includes print, digital, TV, and on-ground activation.

     

    Amar Chitra Katha CEO – publishing Manas Mohan said, “I am delighted at the appointment of Sanjay. Over the years, he has contributed immensely to the industry and I am confident that his holistic business acumen, network and strategic thinking will continue to be of immense value.”

     

    Prior to joining Amar Chitra Katha, Dhar was the business head – production and sales with Sunshine Pictures. He has two decades of experience spanning ad sales, programming, content production, operations and business development across verticals – TV, digital, films, OOH and events. Dhar has worked with leading media companies like Nimbus, UTV, B4U and Turner International for leading brands like HBO, CNN, Cartoon Network and Pogo. He has also had a successful stint as an entrepreneur in the broadcast and media sales business.

     

    “It gives me great pleasure to accept this assignment. I am excited to work with Amar Chitra Katha and its iconic brands. I look forward to joining the superb team and in taking this venture to new heights,” concluded Dhar.