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Tag: appointment

  • Ukrainian producer Julia Sinkevych named jury president for Series Mania ’22

    Ukrainian producer Julia Sinkevych named jury president for Series Mania ’22

    Mumbai: Having previously announced four jury members, Series Mania president Rodolphe Belmer, and founder and general director Laurence Herszberg on Wednesday announced that Ukrainian film producer Julia Sinkevych has been selected as jury president for this year’s Series Mania Festival and its international competition. As her presence in Lille is not certain at this point in time, renowned French writer and director Marc Dugain has been appointed as vice-president of this year’s jury. 

    “We have chosen to give the presidency of the jury of the Series Mania International Competition to a Ukrainian woman, producer, and manager for several years of one of the most important film festivals in Eastern Europe: the Odesa International Film Festival (of which Series Mania has long been a partner of),” commented Belmer. “By proposing this presidency to Julia Sinkevych, who carries the colors of culture in a wounded country, we wish to show our support for the people of Ukraine and attest the importance of festivals in a world in crisis, as they create a place for people to come together to exchange ideas and celebrate our diversities.” 

    “We have always said that series are the mirror to a period of time that resonate through their stories, their characters, and their subjects. Series Mania has always been dedicated to reflecting this continuous and intimate dialogue between culture and society. This is why we feel it is essential today to turn our attention to the tragic situation that is shaking Ukraine and the entire world,” stated Herszberg.

    “By bringing together, under the presidency of a Ukrainian producer, a Turkish screenwriter, a German actor, a French writer and director, an Israeli actress and a French singer, the jury of the international competition, which embodies the core of Series Mania, demonstrates that culture knows no constraints or borders,” added Herszberg.

    In addition to being a producer, Sinkevych is co-founder of the Ukrainian Film Academy, and a member of the European Film Academy. She has always been committed to supporting Ukrainian artists and the culture of her country from Kyiv, where she lives. 

    Working previously for several years for distribution and production company Arthouse Traffic, she was in charge of festival promotion of the selection of short films “Angry Ukrainians” and feature films produced by the company as well as for promotion of young Ukrainian filmmakers and international cooperation between film industry professionals from Ukraine and abroad. Over the years, she established a network of professional contacts in cultural and audiovisual sectors in Ukraine and abroad. Sinkevych has also co-produced a documentary film “Close relations” by Vitaliy Mansky (2016) and “Heatsingers” (2019) by Nadia Parfan. Currently Julia is working on feature films “Lucky girl” by Marysia Nikitiuk and “Lesia” by Nana Janelidze. Julia Sinkevych graduated from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, faculty of law and holds an MA in film production of Kyiv University of Theatre, Film and Television. She was selected to take part in SOFA program (School of film agents, Poland-Germany), completed NIPKOW program.

    “At these times we know that culture is a powerful tool to stop the aggression and to bring to the world new talent. My country is part of that world cinema and now is fighting against all odds to demonstrate that it is the right of each human being to bring beauty, art, peace, and novelty to this world,” commented Sinkevych.

    Jury members previously announced include German actor Christian Berkel (“Downfall, Valkyrie”), Israeli actress Shira Haas (“Unorthodox”), Turkish creator and director Berkun Oya (“Bir Baskadir”) and French singer-songwriter and model Yseult.

  • Witzeal onboards Naveen Goswami as head of innovation

    Witzeal onboards Naveen Goswami as head of innovation

    Mumbai: Witzeal, a new age gaming technology company on Tuesday announced the appointment of Naveen Goswami as head of innovation. With this appointment, Witzeal is determined to strengthen its leadership team and bring about revolutionising change and innovation to the players of Big Cash, thereby providing a remarkable gaming experience to its user base.  

    “Innovation is an imperative module for growth of any company, and we are constantly working towards honing our innovation skill and team,” said Witzeal CEO and founder Ankur Singh. “We are delighted to welcome Naveen on board and look forward to taking Witzeal to greater heights with his expertise and knowledge. His extensive experience in establishing technologies and various teams in different organisations will contribute to the quality of our services and the overall zeal of the team,”

    In this role,Goswami will play a pivotal role in driving new product innovation and development at Witzeal with an aim to bring a qualitative difference to Witzeal’s gaming platform over the years of growth to come. Additionally, he shall be responsible to oversee and implement changes in approaches, methods, products, and processes to enhance competitiveness and improve overall gaming experience, said the statement. 

    The gaming industry in India is growing at an exponential rate and is estimated to reach $3.9 billion by 2025, making it one of the most profitable sectors in the country. Witzeal has and continues to focus on innovation to foster a holistic growth in this sunrise sector and Goswami’s expertise will help the brand to cater to a wider ecosystem, said the company. 

    Goswami is a visionary technology leader and a strategist with over 18 years of experience with proficiency in identifying new revenue enhancement initiatives, designing customer experience journeys. His technical area of expertise is microservices, cloud computing, security, infrastructure automation, auto scaling, virtualisation, disaster recovery, monitoring and management. He has a diverse background in technology, having worked with companies such as ShepHertz, VMware, Digital River, Ericsson, and others on ideation, design, implementation, and deployment of large products on Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and Microsoft Azure to centralise massive volumes of data for analytic purposes and to migrate Data Warehouses to the cloud.

    “In today’s booming online gaming sector, creative use of technology and data can work wonders. I’m excited to be able to put my skills to the test by managing the product Innovation team and securing Big Cash’s and its players’ rapid growth,” stated Naveen Goswami on his new role.

  • Wieden+Kennedy brings in Santosh Padhi as CCO for India

    Wieden+Kennedy brings in Santosh Padhi as CCO for India

    Mumbai: Wieden+Kennedy (W+K) on Tuesday announced the appointment of Santosh ‘Paddy’ Padhi as chief creative officer (CCO) for India. W+K has been established in Delhi since 2007. 

    “The hire also means an expansion for the independent creative agency into Mumbai, where Paddy will build out the shop’s second India location,” said the company in a statement. 

    In this new role, Padhi will build out a leadership, talent and client roster for the expanded India shop. Dean Wei, who has been the executive creative director leading W+K Delhi since 2019, is leaving the agency later this year to return to London. 

    “W+K have always raised the creative product of our industry for the last 3-4 decades, they were one of my inspirations when Taproot was set up,” Padhi said. “In a business like ours you are as good as the kind of people you have on board—there are some wonderful minds in Delhi and I’m once again fortunate to hand pick some more wonderful people to join us and expand our presence into Mumbai.” 

    Padhi started his advertising career 25 years ago after graduating from art school in Mumbai. He founded Taproot in 2009, and the agency quickly became one of India’s most prominent creative agencies, picking up critical acclaim, accolades and awards.

    Earning over 200 international awards (including two dozen Cannes Lions, and multiple Golds and Grand Prix titles from different award shows) and over 300 local awards, Padhi is one of the most awarded creatives in India.

    “Paddy is a transformative creative leader with an impressive track record building creative companies and brands, and making work that is really centered in culture,” stated Wieden+Kennedy global chief creative officer Karl Lieberman. “We feel lucky to have him join us at a time when we really want to connect further to the creative people and culture in India. We are excited about the future of Wieden+Kennedy in India.”

  • Locomotive reinforces strength in India with key appointments

    Locomotive reinforces strength in India with key appointments

    Mumbai: International production company Locomotive Global Media on Monday announced the appointment of Laura Mishra as associate producer and Nikhil Ahuja as finance controller, in view of its long-term business objectives and goals. 

    With a focus on expanding its business horizon, Mishra and Ahuja will significantly contribute in accelerating the company’s growth through their respective roles, according to the company. Their appointments are with immediate effect.

    In her new role, Mishra will be responsible for driving the company’s growth through partnerships with various streaming platforms. In addition to this, she will also contribute by developing, producing, and executing film/television projects that are key to LGM’s overall growth. Mishra brings to LGM six years of experience in the industry, with an expertise in television and film production. 

    Prior to joining LGM, she worked as a development producer at The Story Ink. In addition to this, Mishra has also worked as a producer, director and script consultant in her previous roles.

    As LGM’s finance controller, Ahuja will be responsible for all financial matters and will report to the parent company, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment (CSSE) in the US. Ahuja will also play an active role in production management and project financing with an objective to help rapidly build the company’s scale and operations.

    With over seven years of experience in finance across sectors, Ahuja’s expertise includes crafting finance plans, budgeting strategies, revenue forecasting and taxation. Prior to joining LGM, Ahuja worked with Mumbai Movie Studios as head of finance where he was responsible for content accounting, optimising spends and worked closely with investors and external stakeholders.  

    “We are delighted to welcome Laura and Nikhil to our team as we seek to exponentially accelerate our growth in India,” Locomotive Global Inc co-founder and principal of Sunder Aaron said. “While Laura is a recognised expert in the Indian film industry with an in-depth understanding and knowledge of the entire film production ecosystem, Nikhil is a domain expert and is recognised for his financial skillset. Together with their exemplary leadership abilities and creative minds, we are certain of taking Locomotive Global to greater heights, further consolidating our position in the Indian media and entertainment sector.”

  • Ambuj Narayan takes over as Taneira CEO

    Ambuj Narayan takes over as Taneira CEO

    Mumbai: Taneira – the women’s ethnic wear brand from Titan – the Tata Group company has announced the appointment of Ambuj Narayan as chief executive officer. Narayan will spearhead the brand’s journey to drive exponential growth and establish Taneira as the key industry leader in the ethnic apparel segment.

    With experience of over 25 years in sales and operations across retail and consumer durables industries, Narayan has been associated with companies like Metro Cash & Carry, Walmart, Whirlpool and BPL. He has been instrumental in achieving significant business turnarounds and transforming businesses into profitable entities through sustainable practices.

    A Physics (hons) graduate from Delhi University, Narayan has completed his PGD in marketing management from Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies in 1996 and Certificate of Business Excellence from University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business in 2017.

    Speaking on his new role, Ambuj Narayan said, “I am thrilled to be a part of this young, dynamic brand – Taneira that has been committed to bring the best of India’s authentic weaves and crafts from across the country to present contemporary ensembles for the modern Indian women. The brand has been working closely with the rural karigars to upskill them, build exceptional quality products and has made its mark within a short span of time. I look forward to leading the strategic thinking and strengthening the brand value proposition, making Taneira the most loved women’s ethnic-wear brand in the country.”

    Taneira was launched in 2017 to bring about innovation in the largely unorganised women’s ethnic wear category through differentiated designs from over 65 clusters in India.

  • Wow Skin Science appoints Gurpinder Singh Walia as SVP-offline sales

    Wow Skin Science appoints Gurpinder Singh Walia as SVP-offline sales

    Mumbai: FMCG personal care brand Wow Skin Science has appointed Gurpinder Singh Walia as the senior vice president – offline sales. He will be heading the offline sales including general trade and modern trade for Woe Skin Science and Body Cupid. 

    “Gurpinder’s role will entail contributing to the development, implementation, monitoring, and review of business strategies that maximise the brand’s retail top and bottom line,” said the brand in a statement.

    In his career spanning over 19 years, Gurpinder comes with vast experience in the consumer goods industry-leading mandate for brands such as Dabur India, Abbott Nutrition International, Henkel India, SC Johnson Products, Parle Products.

    “Wow has led an iconic journey through its vast online presence in a country that is 90 per cent rooted in offline experientials. I am excited to be driving the next growth phase of the organisation through various offline touchpoints,” said Gurpinder Singh Walia.

    “Being an experienced and a strong sales professional, Gurpinder will be able to devise and navigate sales strategies that will strengthen the brand positioning and recall. With him now as part of our brand, we are looking to enhance a WOWsome offline experience through various interesting collaborations,” stated Wow Skin Science co-founder Manish Chowdhary.

  • Susanne Pulverer becomes Ikea India’s first woman CEO & CSO

    Susanne Pulverer becomes Ikea India’s first woman CEO & CSO

    Mumbai: Ingka Group-owned home furnishings retailer Ikea on Thursday announced the appointment of Susanne Pulverer as its first woman chief executive officer and chief sustainability officer for India. Pulverer, an experienced Ikea leader takes over from the outgoing India CEO Peter Betzel, who will move on to his next assignment within the Ikea Group. 

    Prior to her role as Ikea India CEO and CSO, Pulverer held the position of group business risk and compliance manager at the Ingka group. This is her third stint in India.

    Pulverer joined Ikea in 1997 and has worked across different roles within the Swedish company. She started her Ikea journey as environmental manager for the Ikea Group and moved on to Ikea Sweden, where she held various roles in different business categories. She then moved to India in 2007 to head the purchasing function for Ikea South Asia during which she developed a strong connection and passion for India and its people. 

    Before joining Ikea India once again in 2017, she was the managing director at Ikea Communications, the in-house agency of Ikea, for five years during which she led the organisation through a major transformation to drive better business and people results. Pulverer, in her last role in India led market development for Delhi NCR, where she also drove the sustainability agenda and local community initiatives crucial to Ikea’s vision and mission to become a climate-positive business by 2030.  

    “I am excited to be back in India, as we are moving closer towards our vision of creating a better everyday life for the many people. India is a prioritised market for Ingka Group,” stated Susanne Pulvere. “Peter and the team have done a truly commendable job of introducing Ikea in India as a purpose-led brand, expanding the omnichannel presence across cities, strengthening local sourcing and retail competence, and so much more.”

    During his tenure in India, Peter led the Ikea India team through the journey of transformation and with his deep passion for people and business, steered Ikea in India during extraordinary times posed due to the pandemic.  

    “It has been an incredible experience being a part of the Ikea India journey. I am extremely happy to leave the baton in the capable hands of Susanne,” said Peter Betzel. “Her determined and strong leadership is a great inspiration for many of us. I am confident that she will lead our strong value-based India team to make the Ikea vision a reality for many people.”