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Tag: Appointment News

  • Dentsu India appoints Krishna Mani as executive creative director – South

    Dentsu India appoints Krishna Mani as executive creative director – South

    MUMBAI: Dentsu India, the brand solutions agency from the house of Dentsu Aegis Network, has appointed Krishna Mani as executive creative director – south. He will be based out of the agency’s Bangalore office and will report to Dentsu India chief creative officer Malvika Mehra.

    Previously, Krishna worked with Ogilvy Delhi as group creative director, where he handled some of the biggest brands in the country including Sprite, KFC, Voltas, Honda, Philips, Pizza Hut, and Dabur. With over 16 years of experience, which involves many accolades including Cannes Lions nominations, Krishna is all set to lead the agency’s creative mandate for its south operations.

    Talking about Krishna’s appointment, Dentsu India chief creative officer Malvika Mehra said, “Good work is mostly the outcome of happy accidents – good clients colliding with good talent. Add a new location to the mix and one usually lands a winning combo. I’m glad to have managed to lure Krishna from ‘saddi Dilli’ to ‘namma Bengaluru’. Krishna has done some amazing work in the past and with the exciting roster of clients in our offices across South – Bangalore, Chennai, and Cochin, I am really looking forward to us creating some magical, new-age work together. With my time divided between the Mumbai and South offices, I can see many delightful evenings spent on the lawns of the Bangalore Club with our teams, cracking ideas that make our clients and Dentsu India famous.”

    Commenting on his joining, Krishna said, “When you have been in one place for 16 odd years, it’s not easy to leave. A nudge just doesn’t do, you need something way more exciting, more magnetic. That was what Malvika’s call for Dentsu India was for me. When she said there was a great opportunity to create something new, build something special, I was tempted. When she said it’s about leading the agency in the south markets, I was very interested. (Especially now when regional insights are becoming more and more important). When she said the clients are a mix of strong brands and bubbling start-ups, I was finally hooked. Add to this the support of the huge Dentsu Aegis Network; and yes, the weather of Bangalore. I was totally onboard. I have always had a vision of creating media agnostic communication, and today there’s no better place to begin doing that than Dentsu India Bangalore.”

  • Amazon’s Amit Agarwal appointed as IAMAI chairman

    Amazon’s Amit Agarwal appointed as IAMAI chairman

    MUMBAI: Amit Agarwal, senior vice-president, Amazon and country manager, India, has been appointed as the new chairman of Internet and Mobile Association of India [IAMAI]. He assumes office at a time when the industry is going through a growth trajectory with more than 500 million internet users in India.

    Commenting on his appointment, Agarwal said, “This is an exciting phase in the growth story of internet in India. As the internet revolution continues to be a socio-economic leveler, offering barrier-free access to Indian customers and small businesses in the remotest areas, I am excited that we are coming together as an industry to help truly harness the potential of the internet and emerging technologies such as AI in addressing India-specific problems at scale. I look forward to IAMAI continuing to offer a thoughtful platform for the industry to collaborate with the government, academia & think-tanks and other relevant stakeholders to leverage the digital ecosystem and contribute to India's growth."

    He added, "We will continue to offer evidence-based insights to not only be trusted as thought leaders in the emerging areas of tomorrow but also in the debates today. The association remains committed therefore to bring forward non-partisan leading reports that include multiple perspectives to help lay the road map for achieving the 1 trillion dollar digital economy along with job creation, improving livelihood and contribution to the overall GDP of the country."

    Apart from Agarwal, there have been certain other key appointments at IAMAI. Yatra co-founder and CEO Dhruv Shringi has taken up the charge as vice chairman. He succeeds MakeMyTrip founder and group CEO Deep Kalra.

    Times Internet vice chairman Satyan Gajwani has been elected as the new Treasurer of the association. Dr. Subho Ray continues to be the president of the association. The tenure of the new council is for two years.

  • Vandana Verma promoted as Arc Worldwide India COO by Publicis Communications

    Vandana Verma promoted as Arc Worldwide India COO by Publicis Communications

    MUMBAI: Publicis Communications India has announced the promotion of Vandana Verma as Arc Worldwide India COO. She will continue to report to Publicis Communications South Asia CEO Saurabh Varma.

    Verma holds over two decades of experience in experiential marketing and had joined Publicis Groupe in 2012 as its VP. She was handed the reins of Arc Worldwide India in 2017. Under her astute guidance, Arc Worldwide has grown to become one of the leading brand activation and experiential agencies in the country working with top notch clients such as Nerolac, Citibank, Nissan, Welspun, Shell, P&G, Fitbit, Hewlett Packard, IOC, Skoda SBI, UB Group, Hotstar, Odisha Government, Cisco, Godrej Security Solutions and Sandisk among others, within just two years.

    Through the Publicis Groupe’s “Power of One” model, Arc Worldwide works closely with its creative, media, digital and PR agencies i.e. Leo Burnett Group, Publicis Worldwide, L&K Saatchi & Saatchi, Digitas, MSL, to deliver best-in-class experiential solutions that create shopper interactions with brands. These solutions are designed using tools, learnings and expertise from across the Groupe’s global network.

    Publicis Communications South Asia CEO Saurabh Varma said, “Arc Worldwide has seen tremendous growth in the last two years in India. The agency, under Vandana’s leadership, has played a critical role in enabling and taking our ‘Power of One’ platform to greater heights. Arc Worldwide has provided its clients meaningful “Acts” merging data, technology, human insights and behaviours, to create incredible work. The next few years is going to be big for experiential marketing in India and I couldn’t have asked for a better leader than Vandana to take this head on.”

    On her new role, Vandana said, “India has proved to be one of the biggest markets for Arc Worldwide across the globe. The shopper and experiential market in India is witnessing a shift from being looked at as an “activation” or “event” management category to a more robust solutions partner for brands. This is primarily because today, people want to have an immersive experience with products. For brands in turn it’s a great time to invest more in experiential marketing because of the different tools, technology and data points we use currently to help them understand their consumers a lot more in detail. I’m looking forward to exploring more innovative ways to really use this market to its full potential and continue to deliver on best-in-class solutions for our brand.”

  • Havas Group India appoints Ravinder Siwach as national creative director for Havas Creative

    Havas Group India appoints Ravinder Siwach as national creative director for Havas Creative

    MUMBAI:  Havas Group India has strengthened its leadership in India with the appointment of Ravinder Siwach as national creative director for Havas Creative, effective immediately.

    In his new role, Siwach will lead the creative team and drive the next phase of growth for multiple brands under Havas Creative with a focus on further cementing the creative value proposition across all Havas Group India disciplines – creative, media, health, digital, and design. He will report to Havas Group India chairman and chief creative officer Bobby Pawar.

    Siwach joins Havas Group India from McCann Delhi, where he was the executive creative director. He has over two decades of experience across agencies such as McCann, DDB Mudra, Contract and brands like Coke, Nestle, Nokia, Reebok to name just a few. Siwach is credited with several award-winning campaigns across national and international awards shows like Cannes, One Show, WARC, Adfest, Spikes Asia, Effies, Abbys  and IAA Olive Crown. He has also served as a juror at Adfest and Goafest and is a guest lecturer at various management institutes.

    Commenting on the appointment, Havas Group India chairman and chief creative officer Bobby Pawar said “Ravinder has been in this industry for almost two decades and he comes with a rich creative background and experience working on a cross-section of brands and categories. I had the opportunity to work with him in the past and I am confident that his strategic thinking and understanding of the evolving media landscape will take our creative capabilities and output to the next level.”

    “I have always admired Bobby as a creative leader and as a human being and excited at the opportunity of working with him at Havas Group India. Havas Group is headed exactly in the direction the future of communication lies. Vivendi companies like Gameloft and Universal Music add depth to the Havas offering and vice-versa which is a huge differentiator in the industry. We have a vision in place at Havas and we are just going to go after it, ‘no holds barred,” added Siwach.

  • CEAT appoints Amit Tolani as vice president – marketing

    CEAT appoints Amit Tolani as vice president – marketing

    MUMBAI: CEAT Ltd., a leading Indian tyre manufacturer, has appointed Amit Tolani as vice president–marketing. Tolani will be based out of CEAT’s headquarters in Mumbai and will be responsible for spearheading the marketing initiatives of the company.           

    Tolani has been with CEAT for over 13 years and has experience in domains like aftermarket sales, supply chain, strategy, and strategic OEM partnerships. Before becoming vice president-marketing, he led CEAT’s OEM business, which included sales and business development. He also has experience in the field of International business and has managed CEAT businesses across the America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and South East Asia.

    Commenting on his appointment, CEAT Ltd COO Arnab Banerjee said, “We are delighted to have Mr. Tolani as the newest member to spearhead our marketing organization. He has played a significant role in CEAT’s growth journey. I am confident that his rich experience across various business verticals will prove to be an asset in achieving the vision of our company.”

  • Economic Times’ Sanjay Sindhwani is new digital CEO of Indian Express

    Economic Times’ Sanjay Sindhwani is new digital CEO of Indian Express

    MUMBAI: Indian Express Online Media Services, the digital arm of The Indian Express Group, has appointed Sanjay Sindhwani as its CEO. Sindhwani comes from The Economic Times, where he was VP-digital products and business head. He will report to group CEO George Varghese.

    He replaces Durga Raghunath who had resigned last December.

    The Indian Express Group executive editor Anant Goenka welcomed Sindhwani saying that he has known Sindhwani for close to three years and has also learned from him. In an email to the employees, Goenka wrote, “Sanjay joins us at the beginning of a year when public trust in the news media has hit an all-time low and when recognized news media brands are often being baited and are getting caught picking political sides.”

    Sindhwani has spent 24 of his 25-year career in the Times Group, which he had joined after brief stints at Bradma of India and Usha India. He joined Bennett & Coleman as an investment analyst in 1994. In 1999 he became editor, product and brand head at Times Internet. Sindhwani is an electronics engineer from Nagpur University and did his MBA in finance from the Institute of Management Studies.

  • Dentsu Aegis Network India strengthens creative structure

    Dentsu Aegis Network India strengthens creative structure

    MUMBAI: Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN) India has announced an enhancement in its creative structure. Taproot Dentsu chief creative officer and co-founder Agnello Dias (Aggi) will now take on the additional responsibility of Dentsu Aegis Network India creative chairman. In his new role, Dias will now also guide and mentor the creative output of all DAN India companies even as he continues his services with Taproot Dentsu.

    Taproot Dentsu CCO, co-founder and DAN India creative chairman Agnello Dias said, “Taproot Dentsu is now a robust, full-fledged agency, based in two cities and run by a team of capable and talented professionals. In fact, this is the team that has been at the forefront of everything the agency has done for some time now. With the structure now in place and Paddy (Santosh Padhi) leading the way with the rest of the team, it was felt that I could stretch myself to also work with the other hungry and talented teams across the DAN network in India. It is an exciting part of my life’s journey and I hope it’s fruitful for all.”

    Speaking on Agnello’s enhanced role Dentsu Aegis Network CEO greater south and chairman, CEO India Ashish Bhasin said, “It is really delightful to add on an additional responsibility of Creative Chairman DAN India to Aggi. The entire creative community in India looks up to Aggi for his tremendous achievements. His mentoring of creative talent across all DAN India agencies will make DAN India an unbeatable creative powerhouse. I am really glad that Aggie has agreed to stretch himself and share his unparalleled talent across the group. I look forward to him chairing the DAN India Creative Council.”

    Dias, previously the national chief creative officer for JWT India, has been with Taproot Dentsu, the agency he co-founded, for 10 years now. Today, the agency has a robust structure with Santosh Padhi (CCO & co-founder), Umesh Shrikhande (CEO), Pallavi Chakravarti (ECD), Ayesha Ghosh (general manager) and Shashank Lanjekar (head of strategy) in Mumbai and Harjot Narang (general manager), Titus Upputuru (ECD) and Anand Murty (head of strategy) in Delhi, leading their teams across a diverse portfolio of national and local brands.

  • Havas Creative strengthens Mumbai team with two senior hires

    Havas Creative strengthens Mumbai team with two senior hires

    MUMBAI: Havas Creative has further bolstered its creative offering with two senior hires in its Mumbai office.  Gururaj Rao has joined as executive creative director and Durgesh Singh as associate creative director – copy. Both Gururaj and Durgesh will report to Havas Creative national creative director Mayur Hola. The duo will aim to foster creativity at the heart of everything, in line with the Group’s integrated approach manifested in the ‘Havas Village’ model.

    Having worked across agencies like Publicis, Ogilvy, JWT and DDB Mudra, Rao has nearly 13 years of experience in advertising. Prior to Havas, he was working with an Indie creative shop Tiqui-Taka.  He has worked on brands like Nerolac Paints, Sony Sports, Urban Clap, Dr. Fixit, Fevicol, Skoda, Cadbury 5 Star, Havmor Ice-cream, Volkswagen and HDFC Mutual Fund. Moreover, his work has been recognised at both national and international awards like the Clio Awards, Young Guns, Effies and Abbys. He has been nominated by the Ad Club Bombay for the ‘Young Achievers Award’ as well as being ranked 35th in the Young Guns Global Young Creatives Ranking in 2008.

    Singh carries with him eight years of extensive experience in the field of content generation and creative writing with agencies like DDB Mudra and Publicis India. He has worked across brands like HDFC, Skoda, Zee, and Nerolac.

    Commenting on the appointments, Mayur Hola said, “Guru brings an infectious energy that Bobby and I are sure will light up the Havas Mumbai office and give it purpose. His interaction with people is at a granular level and he’s just a straight up solid guy who puts his head down and gets work done. We’re very happy to have a kindred spirit such as him on-board. Durgesh is a bright spark. His ideas are just what we need as we add creative muscle to the Mumbai office. We’re sure that Durgesh and Guru will create a powerful alliance and work with the rest as part of a great team.”

    “I am really looking forward to being part of this exciting new team and working with Bobby Pawar and Mayur Hola and their vision of a refreshed creative proposition for Havas Group India,” said Rao.

    “I feel I've come to Havas at a very interesting time. Havas Group’s integrated operating model and Vivendi (an entertainment powerhouse) parentage creates a world of opportunities. I am excited to be a part of the team and look forward to doing some amazing work,” said Singh.

  • Unilever elevates Nitin Paranjpe as COO and Sanjiv Mehta as president, South Asia

    Unilever elevates Nitin Paranjpe as COO and Sanjiv Mehta as president, South Asia

    MUMBAI: Unilever recently promoted its president for foods and refreshment Nitin Paranjpe to the post of chief operating officer. In his new role, Paranjpe will be responsible for Unilever’s go-to-market organisations, driving and co-ordinating in-year performance across their countries in line with the company’s divisional strategies.

    Hanneke Faber will take up the role of president foods and refreshment post him. Faber was previously appointed as president for the Europe region.

    There have been several other key appointments and reshuffles in the top management of the global giant.

    Sanjiv Mehta, who was earlier the EVP South Asia, has now been elevated to the post of president for the same region. He will be joining the Unilever Leadership Executive, bringing emerging markets expertise to the executive team.

    Peter Ter Kulve, chief digital officer and EVP South East Asia and Australasia (SEAA), has been appointed president, home care. He will be replacing Kees Kruythoff who has decided to leave Unilever after 27 years of service.

    The roles of President Europe and EVP SEAA will not be replaced. The country organisations in these regions will report into the COO.

    All changes will be effective from 1 May.

  • L&K Saatchi & Saatchi strengthens team

    L&K Saatchi & Saatchi strengthens team

    MUMBAI: L&K Saatchi & Saatchi has announced the appointment of Trishay Kotwal, erstwhile unit creative director, Lowe Lintas Mumbai, as its executive creative director. In his new role, he will be reporting to L&K Saatchi & Saatchi joint national creative director Kartik Smetacek.

    Over the past fifteen years he has worked in New Delhi and Mumbai, across a number of creative agencies including, Lowe, McCann Erickson, and Draft FCB. With experience in varied sectors such as FMCG, automobiles, beauty and broadcast, some of the noteworthy brands he has handled are General Motors, Tata Motors, L’Oreal Paris, Sharp, Star Sports and Byju’s.

    Trishay Kotwal commented on his appointment saying, “I was convinced by Anil and Kartik’s vision for the agency and felt it was the right time and that this is the right place. The opportunity at L&K Saatchi & Saatchi is immense and I look forward to contributing meaningfully to the agency’s creative output.”

    Also, Arthi Basak erstwhile AVP, FCB Interface has joined L&K Saatchi & Saatchi as VP – strategy and planning. In her new role, she will be reporting to L&K Saatchi & Saatchi executive director-planning Snehasis Bose.

    Her prominent work includes campaigns on Cadbury Oreo, Nivea, Nivea Men, Mahindra & Mahindra, Swaraj Tractors, Blue Star, Huggies, Monash University, Godrej Sara Lee.

    Arthi Basak commented, “What struck me about LKSS is this rare combination of a network agency which also has the dynamism of an entrepreneurial setup. I look forward to opening up a new chapter in my career working at this young and energetic organisation.”

    L&K Saatchi & Saatchi CEO and managing partner Anil S Nair said, “I am very excited to welcome two exceptional talents Arthi and Trishay to L&K Saatchi & Saatchi. Both have immense experience & fantastic skills in their respective fields which will be of great value to our wide range of brands across many categories. I look forward to them raising the bar even higher for us.”