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Tag: leadership

  • Media Mantra strengthens its leadership team; appoints Rahul Mehta as CEO

    Media Mantra strengthens its leadership team; appoints Rahul Mehta as CEO

    MUMBAI: Integrated communications firm Media Mantra strengthened its leadership team with the appointment of Rahul Mehta as the chief executive officer of its operations in India. Tasked with the responsibility of driving strategic business growth, Mehta will focus on consolidating and expanding the business across existing and new practice areas, launching new services & providing strategic senior counsel to clients. He will work directly with Media Mantra founding director Udit Pathak.

    With over 22 years of agency and corporate experience, Mehta has served in senior leadership roles for over 15 years including as COO with Kaizzen, senior VP & general manager with Fleishman Hillard and Branch Head with Weber Shandwick. He is also a past winner of the Weber Shandwick Asia Pacific Leadership Award.

    “Media Mantra is currently undergoing a very exciting phase of growth. This year, one of the key focus areas for us was to strengthen our leadership team by adding well-respected professionals like Rahul, who is a proven communications expert with strong expertise in executing innovative and integrated client campaigns,” Media Mantra founding director Udit Pathak said.

    “His vast experience and immense knowledge makes him a perfect fit for overseeing our India operations as part of the growing leadership team. He will provide strategic insights and drive impact and outcomes for our growing list of clients. While working closely with me, he will play a vital role in accelerating collective growth of the organization. As we inch closer to our 10th anniversary this August, Rahul’s appointment is just the beginning of bigger and better things to come in future for the MM family,” he further said.

    “I am excited to join Media Mantra at this exciting juncture, where the agency has laid a strong foundation to enter the next phase of its strong growth journey. Media Mantra has a proven track record of executing award-winning campaigns for clients and I look forward to working alongside Udit to drive a culture of excellence for clients across existing and new service offerings, with a clear focus on delivering communication outcomes that have a measurable impact on business outcomes,” Rahul Mehta said.

    A post-graduate in Advertising and Communications management from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Mehta brings expertise in corporate reputation management, brand reputation management, crisis management, social media influencer campaigns, internal communications, public affairs, senior executive training and brand marketing. His area of expertise transcends diverse sectors such as consumer durables, FMCG, auto, B2B, BFSI, healthcare, aviation, travel & tourism, telecom, healthcare, and fashion and lifestyle.

  • Xiaomi India names Alvin Tse as new GM & Anuj Sharma as CMO in leadership rejig

    Xiaomi India names Alvin Tse as new GM & Anuj Sharma as CMO in leadership rejig

    MUMBAI: Smartphone and smart TV brand, Xiaomi India announced on Friday various organisational changes for the next phase of growth. Alvin Tse will now spearhead the company’s India operations as its new general manager, while Anuj Sharma will rejoin Xiaomi India as the chief marketing officer.

    Tse will replace Manu Kumar Jain, who was previously the managing director of Xiaomi India. Jain moved to a larger role as a global vice president for Xiaomi last year, after seven years in India. Jain is currently responsible for international strategy including international marketing and PR.

    Tse is a Xiaomi global founding team member. He is also a Poco founding member and the former general manager of Xiaomi Indonesia. The company stated that Tse will join hands with current India’s leadership team.

    Sharma was previously the country director for Poco India after the company was announced as an independent brand in 2020. In his role, Sharma will spearhead the overall brand and marketing strategy for the India division and will play an instrumental role in bolstering Xiaomi’s reach with consumers across the nation.

    Since the transition of Manu Jain, Xiaomi India leadership team i.e., chief operating officer Muralikrishnan B, chief business officer Raghu Reddy, and chief financial officer Sameer BS Rao have been leading  India’s business independently and will continue to be a strong driving force behind the brand, the company said in a statement.

  • Havas CX announces key appointments, bolsters leadership in India

    Havas CX announces key appointments, bolsters leadership in India

    Mumbai: Havas CX, the specialized customer experience unit of Havas Creative Group India, has strengthened its leadership team with key appointments to build on the vertical’s existing momentum in India.

    Arunima Singh has been appointed as vice president – customer success and Ashtad Gandhi has been roped in as associate vice president – data & analytics. Both Singh and Gandhi will report to Havas CX India managing partner Prashant Tekwani.

    Havas Group India Group CEO Rana Barua said, “Havas CX India has witnessed exponential growth in less than two years through massive business wins across Mumbai and New Delhi. In addition, it has successfully built resonance in the industry through its annual report X Index. We understand that brands that get CX right will be the ones that stay relevant in the future, and therefore, our aim now is to scale up Havas CX to the next level and further expand both its expertise and our teams.”

    Speaking about the appointments, Havas CX India managing partner Prashant Tekwani said, “Over the past few years, we have partnered with brands to create business solutions with data and technology playing an integral role. As Arunima and Ashtad come on board, we’re embarking on the next phase of our rapid growth. The experience and expertise that both bring to the table will help us strengthen our offering further and empower us with the necessary tools to provide strong, strategic counsel to our clients.”

    With over two decades of experience, Singh has been instrumental in creating award-winning effective campaigns for brands including Pidilite, Godrej Group, Parle, Kotak Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever, Kellogg’s, and Colgate, among others. In her current role, Singh will head the business operations to streamline the process and work closely with the India Havas Creative team/Havas Village India to expand Havas CX’s scope across the group. She moves into Havas CX from Havas Life Sorento.

    Gandhi has over a decade of experience in solving business problems with solutions that connect with their customers. At Havas CX, he will lead the data and analytics wing to build and develop the practice and enhance the customer-centricity of all offerings through data-led processes that’ll help clients arrive at better decisions. Through his career, Gandhi has managed an array of brands, including Škoda, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, Pfizer, GSK, TCS and ITC foods, amongst others. He moved to Havas CX from Publicis.

    Singh and Gandhi will be further supported by the creative duo, Sarthak Ghose and Amarttya Majumdar along with Siddhant Natarajan who is a part of the customer success team. While Sarthak and Amarttya join Havas CX from WATConsult and AutumnGrey (Grey Group), Siddhant was previously a part of Publicis.

    Part of the Havas CX global network, Havas CX India combines the power of data, technology, and design to create meaningful experiences and deliver value across the entire customer journey. Launched globally in 2020, Havas CX network spans across 18 major Havas Villages around the world with India as one of the key focus markets globally.

  • Jubilant FoodWorks onboards Sameer Khetarpal as CEO & managing director

    Jubilant FoodWorks onboards Sameer Khetarpal as CEO & managing director

    Mumbai: Food service company Jubilant Food Works Limited (JFL) announced on Monday the appointment of Sameer Khetarpal as chief executive officer and managing director of the company. Khetarpal will succeed Pratik Pota effective from 5 September 2022, the company said in a statement.

    He joined Jubilant from Amazon, a company where he had been working for six and half years, during which time he conceptualized, launched and scaled several business units like Amazon Fresh, Amazon Pharmacy and Amazon Food.

    Before joining Amazon, Khetarpala worked as a partner at McKinsey and company, where he helped tech companies build their businesses and transform themselves into digital enterprises. He was instrumental in building data-driven service lines used by several fortune 500 companies. He has previously worked with GE Capital and Hindustan Unilever.

    Speaking on the appointment, Jubilant FoodWorks chairman Shyam S. Bhartia and co-chairman Hari S. Bhartia said, “We are now a multi-country, multi-brand company with deep investments in technology. We are looking to further our investments across our portfolio of brands to become a food tech powerhouse. Sameer, with his strengths in building digital first businesses in related spaces will provide the necessary leadership to our business. He is a strong, dynamic and values-driven leader with an impressive track record of delivering consistent high-quality performance in tough consumer businesses.”

    On his new role, Khetarpal said, “As India’s largest food service company, JFL is uniquely poised to scale non-linearly across multiple businesses and geographies. The company has an exceptional track record of innovation and serving customers with exemplary standards. I am honoured to join Jubilant FoodWorks and look forward to working closely with the Jubilant team, to serve millions of customers by building businesses driven by technology and operations excellence.”

    Incorporated in 1995, JFL holds the exclusive master franchise rights from Domino’s Pizza to develop and operate the brand in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal. In India, JFL has a network of 1,567 Domino’s restaurants across 337 cities.

  • Greaves Cotton announces key hires; appoints Dr Arup Basu as deputy managing director

    Greaves Cotton announces key hires; appoints Dr Arup Basu as deputy managing director

    Mumbai: Greaves Cotton on Tuesday announced the appointment of Dr Arup Basu as deputy managing director of Greaves Cotton Ltd and Sanjay Behl as CEO and executive director of Greaves Electric Mobility (GEMPL). The strengthening of leadership comes on the heels of highest-ever consolidated quarterly revenue of Rs 621 crore reported for the quarter ending 31 March, the engineering company said in a statement.

    With this announcement, the Greaves group leadership will move to a simpler and more focused structure, in line with the reorganisation of business carried out in 2021 to facilitate sustained growth, and led by Dr Arup Basu and Sanjay Behl. Both the leaders will report to MD and group CEO Nagesh Basavanhalli.

    In his role, Dr Basu will lead the development and execution of long-term strategies of GCL and will oversee implementation of overall corporate purpose and vision of GCL across engines and retail business. He brings over 30 years of experience in running manufacturing intensive businesses such as packaging (MD at Huhtamaki PPL) chemicals (president and CTO at Tata Chemicals), and automotive (Tata Motors).

    GEMPL, comprising e-scooters, e-rickshaw and e-auto segments, is one of the fastest growing businesses within the group accounting for 38 per cent of the overall revenue for the quarter ended 31 March, representing an annual YoY revenue growth of 251 per cent, according to the company.

    As CEO and executive director of GEMPL, Behl will focus on leading the accelerated growth of the electric mobility business. He comes with a rich experience in leading consumer facing businesses such as textiles (CEO of Raymond Ltd), broadcasting (CEO of Reliance Big TV) and technology (co-founder/CEO of Nextqore Inc).

    Commenting on the leadership appointments, Nagesh Basavanhalli said, “I am delighted to welcome Dr Arup Basu and Sanjay Behl into the leadership team of the Greaves Cotton group. Their immense experience in transforming and growing Indian businesses at global scale will help us accelerate our growth. Their leadership skills in building future facing organisations will help steer growth in their respective areas.”

  • Carat India appoints Vasim Rakhangi as AVP – strategy

    Carat India appoints Vasim Rakhangi as AVP – strategy

    Mumbai: Further strengthening its leadership team, Carat India – the media agency from the house of dentsu India – has appointed Vasim Rakhangi as associate vice president – strategy for North and East. He will report into Carat India CEO Anita Kotwani.

    In his new role, Rakhangi’s core focus will be to spearhead and deliver integrated media strategy to the agency’s existing clients across the regions. 

    Rakhangi has over 11 years of experience in media and research, having led multiple brands on integrated media strategies that focus on both traditional as well as digital media. Prior to this, he worked for conglomerates in the FMCG sector like Mondelez, GCPL, Marico as well as broadcasting brands including Star Plus and Star Sports.

    With this appointment, Carat continues to accelerate its transformation of the agency across India, as it looks to bring new focus on its designing for people proposition.

    This is the fourth key strategic leadership hire for the agency in recent months, bringing a fresh perspective, increased impetus, and expertise to deliver on well-known brands in the Indian market, according to the agency.

    Commenting on the appointment, Anita Kotwani said, “With his extensive experience and passion, Vasim will help our clients stay ahead of the curve, especially as he helps them demystify the complex digital media landscape. One of his focus areas will be, to translate the disruption of video and the future of measurement to the consumers’ dynamically changing needs and, how the role of data, privacy, and technology impact their business.”

    “Vasim’s remit in our North market will encompass Phillips Domestic Appliances, Microsoft, Mastercard, Havells, and the DS Group amongst others, as he also works with our local teams to drive growth for both North and East markets,” she further said.

    Vasim Rakhangi commented, “With the kind of transformation taking place within the media landscape in India, Carat’s framework seamlessly blends in with the rapidly changing environment. It has always focused on building deeper relationships between people and brands in order to design campaigns which truly resonate with people and drive impactful results for clients. It is indeed a privilege to work with Anita and lead regions with so many great opportunities to bring this to life in partnership with such powerful brands.”

  • Publicis Media Services bolsters leadership team with key appointments

    Publicis Media Services bolsters leadership team with key appointments

    Mumbai: Publicis Media Services, a part of Publicis Groupe India on Thursday announced key appointments in data sciences & performance marketing. Rajesh Viswanath has joined as senior vice president, data sciences while Vivek Tyagi has been brought in as the head of performance marketing. Both Rajesh Viswanath and Vivek Tyagi will report to Publicis Media Services India CEO Tanmay Mohanty.

    “The appointments are in line with it’s focus on scaled, future-facing solutions and data driven decision-making to deliver maximum impact for brands,” the company said in a statement.

    Viswanath comes with an experience of 19 years in the M&E and BFSI verticals and has worked with companies such as SG Analytics, Citiustech and Genpact. In his new role at Publicis Media Services, he will help enhance and embed analytics into integrated client solutions, underpinning data across all services and generating unparalleled business value. He will develop further the suite of tools, research, advanced analytics approaches and place data and analytics at the heart and centre of all marketing strategies for brands.

    Tyagi has over a decade of experience across marketing services, having spent almost seven years with Publicis Groupe agencies Zenith and Performics. His last stint was with Liv, lifestyle banking app by by Emirates NBD. 

    In his new role at Publicis Media Services, Tyagi will be responsible for strengthening the performance marketing proposition and offering, by harnessing the power of data and technology. He will also work with Publicis Consulting to help clients transition their performance marketing to a cookie-less yet increasingly digitally active future.

    Speaking on the new appointments, Tanmay Mohanty said, “In an ever-evolving market scenario, we are continually focused on strengthening our media product and offering in order to bring in incredible value and scale for our clients. The appointments highlight our commitment in delivering market-leading media services, in an increasingly opt-in digital world. Both performance and data sciences are key pillars for further transformation and growth of our business. The new hires fortify our leadership team, pushing further on our strategic agenda, bringing in innovative strategies, fresh thinking and approaches and exemplary data-driven marketing.” 

    “I am confident that Rajesh Viswanath and Vivek Tyagi, with their depth of expertise and experience will bolster our services exponentially and continue to drive media excellence,” he added.

  • Modenik Lifestyle strengthens its leadership team

    Modenik Lifestyle strengthens its leadership team

    Mumbai: Modenik Lifestyle has announced the expansion of its management team with the joining of Suryanarayana GV as its chief information officer (CIO) and Utkarsh Thakur as the head of marketing for the men’s Category. 

    The new CIO, Suryanarayana GV, an alumnus of Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani, has over two decades of industry experience in Oil, Gas, Power & Renewables, where he successfully implemented IT Strategies, Business Transformation, and has rolled out large scale IT projects to drive business-focused success. Over the years he has worked with various renowned brands including Cairn Energy India and Tata Power. At Modenik, he will be responsible for driving effective digital transformation enabling a future-ready organisation.

    Utkarsh Thakur joins Modenik as the head of marketing for the men’s category. He comes with a diverse experience of 20 years in marketing and has expertise in consumer understanding, brand management, product portfolio management, sales management, communication, and media along with exposure to Asian markets. Over the years he has worked for the WPP Group, the Bennett Coleman Group and Titan Company Limited. At Modenik Lifestyle, he will be helming marketing for the men’s brands – Dixcy Scott & Levi’s and Dixcy Scott’s women’s product Slimz. He will help the brands accelerate their growth across categories and geographies.

    Commenting on the appointments, Modenik Lifestyle Executive Chairman Sunil Sethi said, “We are pleased to welcome both Suryanarayana and Utkarsh to our management team. Their joining comes at a pivotal moment in our journey as we aim to accelerate our growth into a sustainable and collaborative ecosystem.” Sunil further said, “Suryanarayana’s decades of expertise in the technology sector is of immense value to us enabling us to accelerate both the innovation and impact of seamless integration of IT. Utkarsh has a wide array of experience in the consumer marketing domain, making him an invaluable asset to our leadership team.”

    The newly appointed Modenik’s CIO, Suryanarayana GV said, “It gives me immense pleasure to be joining Modenik’s leadership team at a pivotal time for the brand. I look forward to working with the team to deliver innovative business IT solutions that not only meet the needs of customers and consumers today, but also give Modenik the platform to support future business growth.”

    On joining Modenik as the new Head of Marketing – Men’s category, Utkarsh Thakur said, “I am excited to join the talented team at Modenik and work towards realising the ambition of making our brands the preferred choice in essential clothing. We have strong brands that can leverage the opportunity in the essential wear segment to deliver significant growth – my team and I are committed to making this happen through consumer-driven marketing.”

  • Shiladitya Mukhopadhyaya joins Truecaller as global head of enterprise solutions

    Shiladitya Mukhopadhyaya joins Truecaller as global head of enterprise solutions

    MUMBAI: Truecaller has announced the expansion of its leadership team in India with the appointment of Shiladitya Mukhopadhyaya as global head of enterprise solutions.

    With substantial growth plans in the upcoming months, he will take up the responsibility of accelerating and scaling up the brand’s enterprise products and GTM, working alongside a diverse team based in India and abroad.

    Speaking of his new role, Mukhopadhyaya said, “I’m delighted to join Truecaller and  take on the challenge of leading and shaping the Truecaller for business chapter further.”

    “It’s an exciting opportunity for me to work with a great team and a phenomenal consumer technology brand which is used and loved the world over. I look forward to working closely with businesses on Truecaller to build world class enterprise services that will fuel more growth while creating long term sustainable value for all stakeholders in the company,” he added.

    Shiladitya is a first generation founder and has been a serial entrepreneur having built multiple companies in his close to two decades of industry experience, with expertise in enterprise SaaS businesses and a track record of building and leading dynamic teams in competitive markets. In his last role as the CleverTap vice president of sales he was instrumental in scaling revenues of the company to over $45 million annual recurring revenue (ARR) in less than six years of monetization.

    Expressing his delight at the new appointment to his team, Truecaller India’s managing director and chief product officer Rishit Jhunjhunwala commented, “We are delighted to have Shiladitya join us. Shila is backed by decades of experience working with powerhouse brands and he understands market complexities and the varied nuances of the SaaS businesses. I’m confident that he will add immense value and strengthen Truecaller’s position worldwide as we grow the vertical.”