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Tag: appointment

  • Chuck Robbins takes over as Cisco CEO

    Chuck Robbins takes over as Cisco CEO

    NEW DELHI: Telecom vendor Cisco has appointed an insider, Chuck Robbins as its chief executive officer. 

     

    The policy of upgrading an insider is very much like that adopted by Microsoft, which had taken Indian born Satya Nadella for the top job. Robbins will take over the CEO position from John Chambers, who led the rise of Cisco for the last 20 years. Chambers will assume the role of executive chairman on 26 July.

     

    Robbins, who joined Cisco in 1997, knows every Cisco segment, technology area, and geography.

     

    Cisco chairman and CEO John Chambers said, “Our next CEO needs to thrive in a highly dynamic environment, to be capable of accelerating what is working very well for Cisco, and disrupting what needs to change.”

     

    He recently served as Cisco’s senior vice president of worldwide operations, leading the company’s global sales and partner team that drives $47 billion in business for the company. He was formerly Cisco’s senior vice president of the Americas.

     

    He has helped lead and execute many of the company’s investments and strategy shifts, including building the industry’s most powerful partner programme, now worth more than $40 billion in revenue to the company each year.

     

    He was also a key architect of the company’s strategy for the commercial business segment, which grew eight per cent year-over-year last quarter, and now represents 25 per cent of Cisco’s total business. He has sponsored the security and collaboration businesses at the executive level and was a sponsor for the Sourcefire and Meraki acquisitions.

     

    As a member of the team that has led Cisco’s transformation over the more than three years, Robbins has driven the reinvention of Cisco’s sales organization, cementing its place as the envy of the industry. But the growth of Cisco in the last two years was not impressive due to tough market conditions.

     

    Chambers has served as CEO of Cisco since January 1995, having joined the company in 1991 as the head of sales. He has grown the company from $1.2 billion in annual revenue to its current run rate of $48 billion.

     

    According to a Cisco release, Robbins was also elected to the Board of Directors of Cisco, effective 1 May. 

     

    “This is the perfect time for Chuck Robbins to become Cisco’s next chief executive officer. We’ve selected a very strong leader at a time when Cisco is in a very strong position,” said Chambers.

     

    He added, “Today’s pace of change is exponential. Every company, city and country is becoming digital, navigating disruptive markets, and Cisco’s role in the digital transformation has never been more important. Chuck is unique in his ability to translate vision and strategy into world-class execution, bringing together teams and ecosystems to drive results. Chuck knows every Cisco segment, technology area, and geography, and will move the company forward with the speed required to capitalize on the opportunities in front of us. He is a champion of the Cisco culture and has an incredible ability to inspire, energize, and connect with employees, partners, customers and global leaders. Chuck’s vision, strategy and execution track record is exactly what Cisco needs as we enter our next chapter, which I am confident will be even more impactful and exciting than our last.”

     

    “I joined Cisco 17 years ago because I wanted to be a part of a company where I believed the possibilities were limitless. Today, I am even more convinced that Cisco is that company,” said Robbins. “Over the past 20 years, John Chambers’ vision and leadership have built Cisco into one of the most important companies in the world; a company fiercely committed to delivering for its customers, shareholders, partners, and employees. The opportunity that lies ahead for Cisco is enormous, and the ability to lead this next chapter is deeply humbling and incredibly exhilarating. I am focused on accelerating the innovation and execution that our customers need from us. Their success will continue to drive us. At a time when our industry is on the cusp of more disruption than we’ve ever encountered, I couldn’t be more confident in our ability to win, or more honored to lead this great company.”

  • Thom Beers to quit FremantleMedia N. America Mullin & Cegielski upped as co-CEOs

    Thom Beers to quit FremantleMedia N. America Mullin & Cegielski upped as co-CEOs

    MUMBAI: FremantleMedia North America CEO Thom Beers will be stepping down as CEO when his contract with the company concludes this summer. EVP current programming Jennifer Mullin and EVP scripted programming Craig Cegielski, who will be promoted to FremantleMedia North America (FMNA) co-CEOs, will replace Beers.

     

    Mullin and Cegielski will report directly into FremantleMedia CEO Cecile Frot-Coutaz and will also have a seat on the FremantleMedia Operating Board from June this year. Mullin and Cegielski will partner to drive continued creative and strategic growth across all of the company’s key businesses.

     

    Beers said, ”It’s been an unbelievable ride and I’ve been fortunate to build an incredibly talented team. We’ve launched shows in syndication and primetime, premiered our first scripted drama, created Buzzr, the company’s first linear channel, and leaped into the digital content business with Tiny Riot! I’m forever thankful to Cecile for her collaborative style, brilliant leadership and friendship. I couldn’t be more energized about FMNA’s future and I’m proud to pass the baton to two of my favorite powerhouses, Jennifer Mullin and Craig Cegielski.”

     

    Frot-Coutaz added, ”Thom has made great strides for the US business. His extensive expertise, creativity, enthusiasm and innovative approach have opened new roads for the company, while building on its foundation. Jennifer and Craig are perfect successors to Thom. They are passionate, driven experts who will lead the business through the next exciting phase and continue to grow the accomplishments Thom made during his tenure. I can’t thank Thom enough for all that he has done for the company and I’m delighted to welcome Jennifer and Craig as they transition to lead the business.”

     

    Mullin said, ”It’s been wonderful to see FMNA grow and innovate over the past 10 years. I’m so proud of our team, what’s been achieved and what’s ahead. Thom has been a terrific fearless leader and incredibly supportive for the past three years. I thank Cecile for this opportunity and her commitment to drive excellence for the business globally. I feel honored to take the reins at FMNA and partner with the brilliant Craig Cegielski. I couldn’t be more excited about what’s ahead.”

     

    Cegielski said, ”I joined FremantleMedia to lead the scripted business in bold and dynamic programming, defining FMNA’s voice in the community. Over the past two years we’ve launched one series on air and sold over a dozen projects into development, while partnering with some of the greatest talent in the industry. I couldn’t thank Thom enough for his enthusiasm and support; and to Cecile for her ongoing commitment to our ambitions. I have a huge amount of respect for the incredibly talented Jennifer Mullin and I’m looking forward to us taking this company to new heights together.”

  • Snapdeal appoints Idi Srinivas Murthy as SVP marketing

    Snapdeal appoints Idi Srinivas Murthy as SVP marketing

    MUMBAI: Snapdeal has appointed Idi Srinivas Murthy as senior vice president – marketing. 

     

    Murthy joins Snapdeal after marketing stints in companies like The Coca-Cola Company and GlaxoSmithKline.

     

    Sandeep Komaravelly, who spearheaded Snapdeal’s marketing function for five years, has moved to another strategic leadership role within the company.

     

    Murthy said, “I am extremely excited to be a part of the young, energetic and dynamic team at Snapdeal. The company is creating the largest digital commerce ecosystem in the country and I believe that this is where New Age Marketing will be invented. I look forward to being a part of building an iconic brand in India for India and making Snapdeal’s vision of creating life changing experiences for buyers and sellers a reality.”

     

    His last role was at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), where as regional director, marketing – Africa based out of Johannesburg. He spearheaded GSK’s portfolio expansion, innovation, and consumer and medical marketing across 44 countries. Murthy’s work has also been recognised with multiple industry awards. In 2009, he featured in Brand Equity’s Indian Marketers League which covered the country’s brightest marketers. 

     

    At The Coca-Cola Company, he worked across different roles in marketing and operations. There, in his last role as marketing director India + South West Asia BU, he was responsible for leading Sprite to the number one beverage brand in the country. 

     

    “We are very excited to have Srinivas join the Snapdeal family. He comes with rich experience in leadership roles across various markets and I am sure his vast knowledge will add tremendous value and further fuel the Snapdeal growth story,” said Snapdeal co-founder and CEO Kunal Bahl.

  • OMD ropes in MEC’s Stephen Li as Asia Pacific CEO

    OMD ropes in MEC’s Stephen Li as Asia Pacific CEO

    MUMBAI: OMD has appointed Stephen Li to lead the Asia Pacific region as its CEO. Li will replace Steve Blakeman, OMD’s current regional CEO who will be relocating to OMD in London in a senior, global role.

     

    Li’s appointment will be effective from October 2015.

     

    Li will be joining OMD from MEC where he is currently the regional CEO for Asia Pacific. Li has over two decades of experience in advertising, media and marketing communications. After holding senior roles with Batey and Lowe, and a role heading up WPP’s team HSBC in the region, Li moved to the media side of the business with MEC in 2005, where he quickly established a reputation of delivering profitability, efficiency and building a culture of positive change.

     

    Omnicom Media Group CEO Asia Pacific Cheuk Chiang said, “We conducted an extensive and intensive search across the region to find OMD’s next leader, someone who is not only experienced, but capable of taking the OMD brand to the next level. Stephen’s proven track record in building strong client partnerships, driving digital growth, evangelizing creativity and inspiring teams is the perfect combination needed to ensure that a powerful brand like OMD stays at the forefront.”

     

    On outgoing CEO, Steve Blakeman, Chiang added, “Steve has driven four years of continued success for OMD on all fronts – growth, thought leadership and creativity. OMD is currently one of the most awarded agencies in the region with a great competitive edge. He could not have left the brand in a stronger place and we can’t thank him enough for his leadership.”

     

    “Asia Pacific is the fastest growing region in the world and vitally important as we continue to build a strong and consistent offering for our clients. The appointment of a leader of Stephen’s calibre will ensure OMD’s accelerated growth. Stephen’s strong client relationship skills and passion for innovation will be invaluable to OMD and I welcome him to the OMD family. Steve over the past few years has made countless contributions to our organisation and we are thankful for his leadership,” said OMD CEO Worldwide Mainardo de Nardis.

     

    Li said, “OMD is a brand which epitomises creative communications planning, and I am delighted to have the opportunity to lead the brand in Asia Pacific. It’s going to be an exciting future and I am committed to driving OMD’s continued growth and ambition in the region.”

     

    Li will be based in OMD’s regional headquarters in Singapore and he will report to Chiang and de Nardis.

  • Walmart India appoints Pankaj More as head of technology

    Walmart India appoints Pankaj More as head of technology

    MUMBAI: Walmart India has appointed Pankaj More as its head of technology.

     

    More will play a key role in strengthening Walmart India’s technology and IT infrastructure. He will report to Walmart India president and CEO Krish Iyer.

     

    Iyer said, “I am very pleased to have Pankaj as the head of technology at Walmart India. His depth of knowledge and global experience will bring a fresh perspective to our business. Pankaj is a strong addition to our Walmart India team.”

     

    More joined Wal-Mart in January 2013 and has been leading the ISD strategy for the Walmart Asia market (China, Japan & India) by driving financial transparency, creating technology roadmap, leveraging cost and implementing project governance.

     

    He comes with over 19 years of experience in IT spanning telecom, financial services, energy and now the retail domain. He has experience in technology development, engineering & ERP platforms, driving IT strategy for business, leading operations and providing leadership to cross-functional, diverse & global teams

  • Sanford Panitch named Sony Pictures Entertainment president intl. film & TV

    Sanford Panitch named Sony Pictures Entertainment president intl. film & TV

    MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) has appointed Sanford Panitch as president of international film and television.  

     

    Panitch comes to SPE after serving as president of Fox International Productions, a division of 20th Century Fox.

     

    Sony Pictures Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton said, “Sanford is a talented and strategic senior executive with an exceptional career working with a wide range of international productions and talent. There is tremendous growth potential in the international and local language markets, and we are thrilled to have someone with Sanford’s experience join our team.”

     

    In his new role, Panitch will report directly to Lynton. He will oversee global film and television co-productions as well as local language film and television productions. In international television, he will coordinate with Sony Pictures Television president of international production Andrea Wong, who will continue with all her responsibilities supervising international television production.

     

    “I’m honored to join the SPE team at this pivotal moment in the studio’s history. I am eternally grateful for my years at Fox working with Jim and all my long time colleagues. This new role comes at a time of unprecedented change in the international marketplace especially in television; it’s a wonderful and unique opportunity to work with Steve Mosko, his outstanding organization and again with my friend Tom Rothman,” added Panitch.

     

    Panitch joins SPE following a successful tenure at Fox. As the founding president of Fox International Productions, he oversaw all local production activities in 12 territories around the globe in Latin America, Europe, India and China. Before establishing the division, Panitch served as New Regency filmed entertainment president and 20th Century Fox executive vice president of production.

  • DDB MudraMax ropes in Kavita Sadana as group account director

    DDB MudraMax ropes in Kavita Sadana as group account director

    MUMBAI: DDB MudraMax has appointed Kavita Sadana as group account director. She will be spearheading DDB MudraMax’s Ahmedabad operations and businesses including experiential, media, outdoor and retail.

     

    Sadana said, “Ahmedabad and Gujarat contain clients, who are mostly entrepreneurs and owners. They prefer a single window solution from their partner agency. Hence, offering all the four services under single identity will be our biggest strength. This market operates on a lot of trust and DDB MudraMax enjoys the finest reputation here. With this combined advantage, we can surely look at excellent business volumes and putting DDB MudraMax Ahmedabad as a strong player on the national map. I am very proud to be associated with the agency and I look forward to working under the leadership of Sathyamurthy and Mandeep.”

     

    Sadana joins DDB MudraMax with over two decades of experience in the marketing communications fraternity. She has worked across platforms and sectors with organisations from media publishing, entertainment and advertising functions. Her experience includes working at strong and innovative organisations like Asian Age, Radio City, Amagi Media Labs, Fun Multiplex and Freihert Mydia to name a few.

     

    DDB MudraMax president and head Mandeep Malhotra said, “It’s great to have Kavita on board. Other than her experience, she brings a lot of joy and pride in working with great perseverance and professionalism. We are looking forward to her contribution in making Ahmedabad office a rocking and self-sustaining one.”

     

    DDB MudraMax-Media president Sathyamurthy Namakkal added, “She is an excellent addition to the team and fortifies our team in the Gujarat market.”

  • McCann Worldgroup appoints Sean MacDonald as global chief digital officer

    McCann Worldgroup appoints Sean MacDonald as global chief digital officer

    MUMBAI: McCann Worldgroup has appointed Sean MacDonald as chief digital officer.

     

    He joins from Ogilvy where he has been managing director, emerging ventures. MacDonald, who will be based in New York, succeeds Mike Parker who will be transitioning away from McCann opting to remain based in San Francisco.

     

    “Sean’s strategic background as well as his ability to integrate new digital capabilities to facilitate the way consumers interact with brands will help our clients to fully take advantage of the spectrum of changes in the marketplace. He has a deep understanding of the ways technology allows us to reach consumers, which will help us to accelerate our digital offering across our geographies and disciplines,” said McCann Worldgroup president Luca Lindner.

     

    MacDonald has two decades of experience developing digital and engagement strategies for high profile companies. He joined Ogilvy as a senior digital strategist in 2004, and then rose to head the agency’s digital and engagement strategy areas and later their Ventures initiative. 

     

    Over the years, he has held senior posts at a series of digitally-focused companies, building digital strategy teams and tools, and designing creative digital and social programs for clients in every major category, including such global marketers as Coca-Cola, American Express, DuPont, Nestlé, Cisco and BP. 

     

    “McCann is an exciting place, with vision and momentum and a culture that not only values collaboration but knows how to make it work on a global scale, across disciplines. I’m thrilled to be part of this team,” said MacDonald.

  • Cisneros Media ropes in Wilma Maciel as VP, content management & acquisitions

    Cisneros Media ropes in Wilma Maciel as VP, content management & acquisitions

    MUMBAI: Cisneros Media, the corporate division encompassing the Cisneros’ media and entertainment businesses around the world, has appointed Wilma Maciel as vice president, content management & acquisitions for Cisneros Media Distribution (CMD), effective immediately.

     

    Based out of the Cisneros corporate headquarters in Miami, Florida, Maciel will report directly to Cisneros Media EVP of content distribution Marcello Coltro.

     

    “We are fortunate to be able to count on Wilma’s extensive expertise in the media industry as her role will be instrumental for the continuing implementation of our plan to consolidate the operations of the Pay TV and content sales areas of Cisneros Media Distribution. Wilma will work side by side with the executives of Pay TV and content sales in order to fulfill the growing demand of CMD’s international clientele, our broadcast and Pay TV channels, as well as the increasing number of digital platforms around the world,” said Coltro. 

     

    In this recently created position, Maciel will assist Coltro in the design and development of a comprehensive content portfolio strategy for Cisneros Media Distribution to maximize international exploitation and to streamline efficiency and revenue potential; including but not limited to identifying and developing new strategic relationships with key producers and broadcasters; evaluating partnership, licensing and alliance opportunities; revising the current Pay TV channel offering, programming and scheduling strategies, and acquiring content targeting their audiences; assessing new business models for adding external content to CMD’s catalogue; and establishing standard templates for commercial relationships with third-party producers.

     

    With a career spanning almost 25 years in the television industry, Maciel held key positions in several major media companies, bringing to CMD with her a vast experience in international markets, particularly Ibero-America.

     

    In recent years, she was Sony Entertainment Television Latin America vice president of programming, acquisitions, on-air planning and original productions; Warner Channel senior executive programming and acquisition director; in addition to her work with entertainment companies like ESPN and AMC.

  • Sony DADC elevates Rajat Kakar as managing director – India ops

    Sony DADC elevates Rajat Kakar as managing director – India ops

    MUMBAI: After successfully launching Home Entertainment Services by Sony DADC in India, Rajat Kakar has been elevated as the managing director of Sony DADC India, reporting in to Sony DADC International president Dietmar Tanzer.

     

    Kakar replaces CK Sunny, who joined the company in 1997 at a time when the audio cassette business was the prevailing format and had steered the manufacturing unit through the advent of compact discs and eventually into Blu-ray disc.

     

    In his new role, Kakar will oversee the Sony DADC manufacturing and distribution unit operations in addition to the licensee business. Core to his new responsibilities, Kakar will provide strategic guidance to the company’s existing portfolio and expand the current verticals while exploring growth opportunities for the company in India.

     

    Kakar joined the company in 2012 as the business head for its licensee business. Under his leadership, the home entertainment business portfolio expanded in a very short span of time, making it the biggest entertainment licensing and distribution entity in India. Under his guidance Home Entertainment Services by Sony DADC entered into exclusive home video marketing and distribution for major Hollywood studios like Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Warner Home Video, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment and National Geographic in India.

     

    He also expanded the music portfolio encompassing Sony Music, Warner Music, Zee Music, Times Music and Saregama content in the music vertical for exploitation across all physical formats.

     

    “I look forward to this new opportunity. We are a company that provides end-to-end solution for any entertainment media company and we hope to consolidate this further with the hallmark Sony service and geographical footprint that we offer – both to our current and potential partners,” he said.