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Tag: Publicis Sapient

  • Rajeev Singh appointed leader for transportation & mobility at Publicis Sapient

    Rajeev Singh appointed leader for transportation & mobility at Publicis Sapient

    MUMBAI: Rajeev Singh has announced his new role as leader for the transportation & mobility industry across EMEA and APAC at Publicis Sapient. In this position, he will focus on developing strategic visions and driving profitable growth within a rapidly transforming sector. 

    His leadership will focus on leveraging Publicis Sapient’s Speed capabilities—strategy, product, experience, engineering, and data & AI – to support clients’ digital transformation journeys.

    Rajeev brings extensive experience, having previously served as consumer industry leader at Deloitte Asia Pacific. With a strong background in automotive and consumer sectors, he is well-equipped to facilitate large-scale digital transformations and explore new business opportunities.

    He holds an MBA in operations management from SP Jain Institute of Management & Research and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the College of Engineering, Pune.

    Excited about his new journey, Rajeev expressed gratitude for the support received during his transition and looks forward to leading innovation in tech-driven transportation solutions.

  • Symon Hammacott joins VMLY&R as chief experience officer, Asia

    Symon Hammacott joins VMLY&R as chief experience officer, Asia

    Mumbai: Global brand experience agency VMLY&R on Tuesday announced the appointment of Symon Hammacott as chief experience officer, Asia. Based at VMLY&R’s Asia principal office in Singapore, Hammacott will be responsible for driving the customer experience (CX) practice for the agency network in Asia, leading the region’s customer experience and technology leadership teams in the development and implementation of business strategy to support current and new business in line with regional and global targets.

    In this role, Hammacott will be tasked with identifying and investing in new technologies and partnerships to reinforce and develop VMLY&R’s CX portfolio. He will also actively participate in Team WPP pitches and proposals as well as global new business proposals, whilst championing CX; driving culture initiatives and talent development across VMLY&R’s principal offices around the world. In his new role, Hammacott will work closely and report to VMLY&R Asia co-CEO Tripti Lochan and global chief experience officer Jeff Geheb, said the agency in a statement.

    “Symon brings a wealth of experience and a fresh perspective to VMLY&R. He has a clear vision of how he wants to steer the practice in conjunction with our brand experience (BX) and commerce offerings, and his passions for sustainability and ethical design fit perfectly into our ethos of brands with purpose,” said Tripti Lochan.

    Hammacott’s role will help to support VMLY&R’s go-to-market strategy to provide its clients with the most relevant and contemporary agency offering in the market today, merging creativity, technology, and culture to create connected brands that impact the world, said the agency in a statement.

    Prior to joining VMLY&R, Hammacott was regional head of experience at Publicis Sapient, a role he held for six years. Before this, he was a consultant in experience strategy & experience design for global creative agency Isobar for more than 10 years.

    Originally from the United Kingdom, Hammacott has spent more than two decades leading experience and technology companies, teams and enterprise-level programs for clients in Asia and across the world. A strong believer in transforming businesses through design-led change, throughout his career Hammacott has been instrumental in building world-class teams and developing market-leading products and services for companies across most industry verticals – delivering world-class experiences, mixed with a deep understanding and appreciation of local market nuances.

    “Customer experience is not only the future, it’s also the ‘now’, and VMLY&R has already made extensive strides in bringing best-in-class customer experiences to their clients,” stated Hammacotton on his new assingment. “I am energised by the prospect of guiding our immensely talented teams across experience design, technology, product and data in helping clients to firstly gain market-leading positions with their CX and then stay ahead through better operationalising those experiences. In this way we can create meaningful, transformative products, services and capabilities that provide genuine value to both the consumer and our clients every day, and into the future.”

  • Publicis Sapient named leader among global digital business transformation accelerators

    Publicis Sapient named leader among global digital business transformation accelerators

    MUMBAI: Publicis Sapient, the digital transformation hub of Publicis Groupe, has announced that it has been named a Leader in The Forrester Wave: Global Digital Business Transformation Accelerators, Q1 2019. Publicis Sapient was among 15 companies that Forrester included in its evaluation.

    According to Forrester, "Publicis Sapient excels at designing great digital experiences" and "rates highly for its ability to bring accelerator assets and tools to clients alongside its proven digital design and execution."

    The Forrester Wave: Global Digital Business Transformation Accelerators, Q1 2019 report helps CIOs select the right vendor for their needs, and sizes, "Executives the world over now embrace the importance of some kind of digital transformation. But few CEOs understand what's required to truly evolve their company into an effective digital business. Many of these efforts target areas where digital delivers short-term gains in customer experience and operational efficiency. But, when these pockets of innovation are not tied to broader business strategy and true market understanding, transformation stalls.

    "Now, more than ever, the speed of design and execution are vital to success; having the right services partners to shape strategy, design experiences, and fill in gaps in skill sets will accelerate your firm on its journey. Spanning a select set of global consultancies, technology integrators, and digital agencies, these companies blend strategy and execution chops and couple them with the soft skills for inspiring leadership and training teams. CIOs and digital executives should look for providers that: have the capabilities to design business for change … can seamlessly integrate emerging technologies to design new experiences, [and] … bring tools to reduce the time-to-business-impact from years to months."

    Publicis Sapient Australia managing director Sarah Adam-Gedge said, “To be recognised as a leader in The Forrester Wave: Global Digital Business Transformation Accelerators, is a fabulous achievement for us as Forrester is a true barometer of the strength of our industry. As a digital business transformation leader, Publicis Sapient Australia supports its clients move between ‘now and next’, as they face an unprecedented environment of rapidly changing consumer preferences, increasing expectations around regulation, and massive technology possibilities. To help our clients transform and thrive, we also need to continually transform our own business and recognition such as this serves to inspire our team and push us even further.”

    Publicis Sapient CEO Nigel Vaz said, "We are honoured to be recognised as a Leader in this space and believe that it is a proof point of the success of our unique approach to helping clients on their constantly evolving digital transformation journeys. The integration of our capabilities across strategy and consulting, experience and engineering, along with creative problem-solving, provides us with a unique view of both the company and the customer to enable end-to-end transformation."

    The report, authored by Forrester vice president and principal analyst Nigel Fenwick stated, "Publicis Sapient is an especially strong partner where the transformation emphasis is on creating world-class digital customer and employee experiences." Earlier, the report noted that "Publicis Sapient brings world-class digital experience design capabilities as a core element of its transformation delivery model, and because it agrees to outcome-based contracts, they are often vested in their clients' success."

  • Publicis Sapient unveils rebrand; appoints global CEO

    Publicis Sapient unveils rebrand; appoints global CEO

    MUMBAI: Publicis Sapient, positioning the company for growth through a focus on global digital business transformation opportunities, has made two major announcements by unveiling a global rebrand and appointing Nigel Vaz its new chief executive officer.

    These announcements are designed to advance Publicis Sapient’s position as a leader in the digital business transformation space and deliver consistency across global markets and industries. Further, they signal Publicis Groupe’s on-going commitment to placing consulting, creativity and technology at the service of clients’ transformation, to advance their business performance and sustained market relevance during a time of unprecedented digital disruption.

    Publicis Sapient acknowledges that the market has been talking about digital business transformation for some years now but most brands are now just realising the full value.
    While a vast majority of companies today are still focusing on “digital bolt-on” strategies, meaning adding new digital technology to their existing businesses (digitisation), very few companies are actually disrupting their businesses or reimagining the future of their businesses (business model innovation), which is the holy grail of digital business transformation.

    Unfortunately, the focus on the former (digitisation strategy) by most brands and their partners (service providers in their transformation journey) are tied to their current business state only which in reality needs a significant paradigm shift and a fundamentally different approach to help thrive in the future.

    The important element in transforming any business from its current to future state needs a fundamentally “different approach” which Publicis Sapient is committed to delivering for its clients. This “different approach” is the “HOW” or the space between Next (future state) and Now (current state) that brands needs to do to become digitally enabled and competitive to lead in the future.

    Publicis Sapient revised brand proposition positions itself as the bold (creative), agile, disruptive, customer-centric partner that organisations need today to help them lead in the future. As a brand which itself has evolved over the last three decades and helped clients with progressive thinking and innovation, Publicis Sapient has a significantly different approach to transformation compared to the traditional ways that the consultancies have offered over the years.

  • Publicis.Sapient launches campaign with The Humsafar Trust

    Publicis.Sapient launches campaign with The Humsafar Trust

    MUMBAI: Publicis.Sapient, the digital business transformation hub of Publicis Groupe, has launched a short film, #PeopleNotLabels, in partnership with The Humsafar Trust, India’s oldest LGBTQ organisation.

    The film aims at building awareness of the constant obstacles encountered by transgender people in Indian society.

    Set in the city of Bengaluru, the film gives a brief view into the life of Sowmya Shri, a transwoman and Christy Raj, a transman, uncovering commonalities in which people, irrespective of their gender, love and care about each other. Through unique, unheard stories of the two protagonists, the film reveals the harsh realities of mental and physical trauma, gender dysphoria, accompanied with misguided labelling and appearance-bias that exists against the transgender community across the country.

    Publicis.Sapient India managing director Sanjay Menon says, “Our efforts to enable transformation through this philosophy also extends beyond our own organisation into the work we do as part of our corporate social responsibility initiatives. Through TRANScend, a pioneering social impact project, we are working in partnership with the Humsafar Trust to enhance the socio-economic inclusion of trans people into the society in India.”

    #PeopleNotLabels is an initial step towards generating awareness about the hardships the 4.8 million individuals, according to 2011 India census, in the community face. Their rights are being largely compromised in the country, leaving them in a state of isolation, within households, communities and institutions.

    As per a recent study by the National Human Rights Commission, about 96 per cent of transgenders are denied jobs and are forced to take low paying or undignified work for livelihood; 50-60 per cent  of them have never attended schools, and out of those who did, 18 per cent  are physically abused, while 62 per cent  are verbally abused in school.

    The Humsafar Trust CEO Vivek Anand adds, “The transgender communities are among the most marginalised groups of our society. They become victims of violence and discrimination and despite a positive judgement from the Supreme Court in April 2014, they are still not accepted as part of the society. We are yet to traverse a long road towards acceptance and equality of the Trans communities. The TRANScend project is a small step towards bringing TG communities in the fold of mainstream society and creating opportunities that will empower them to lead a life of dignity and respect.”

  • Publicis.Sapient boosts digital business transformation capability with exec hires

    Publicis.Sapient boosts digital business transformation capability with exec hires

    MUMBAI: Publicis.Sapient, the digital business transformation hub of Publicis Groupe, has recently appointed two new executives from the global retail and technology giants Tesco and Amazon as it grows its capability to help clients build businesses of the future.

    Tilak Doddapaneni will take the position of global head of engineering at Publicis.Sapient. Prior to this, Doddapaneni was online engineering director at Tesco. In his new role, he will report to Publicis Groupe lead digitalbusiness transformation and CEO Nigel Vaz.

    Rakesh Ravuri, who has held a succession of senior engineering roles at Amazon, will join as chief technology officer for programming languages and cloud and global head of engineering for retail. He will play a key leadership role in Publicis.Sapient’s extensive operations in India. Ravuri will report to Doddapaneni. Both Doddapaneni and Ravuri are Sapient alumni.

    Publicis.Sapient EMEA and APAC CEO Nigel Vaz said, “I’m delighted that Tilak and Rakesh will be joining Publicis.Sapient on our journey to build our engineering capability as part of our product engineering approach to deliver digital business transformation for our clients. Tilak has exceptional pedigree as a senior leader driving transformational change for one of the world’s biggest retailers through an appreciation of the power that technology and engineering have, as well as an understanding of how to apply that in the evolution of product and experience.”

    “His wealth of experience makes him the right person to lead the implementation of our agile engineering model globally. Rakesh comes to us having recently successfully led the engineering team that developed Amazon delivery, one of the most significant revenue generating businesses for a global technology and retail leader,” he added.

    Commenting on his new role Doddapaneni said, “As someone who is passionate about engineering and running large software systems, I am excited to return to Sapient, which continues to lead the way as a digital transformation company that uniquely combines strategy, experience and engineering disciplines to help clients reimagine and transform their businesses for a digital age. Building a company that has, develops and attracts world-class engineering talent is what has brought me back to Sapient.”

    Pubilics.Sapient chief technology officer Rakesh Ravuri said, “The industry is at an inflection point and technology has moved from support role to the driver’s seat. Sapient is right at the centre of this, with its focus on digital business transformation. I am excited to have a chance to play a leading role in the engineering transformation both for Sapient and its clients.”

    Doddapaneni will lead the entire technology delivery community across Publicis.Sapient globally. In addition to client success and engineering and delivery excellence, he will focus on the talent development, performance metrics, and breakthrough engineering practices required by digital business transformation clients in their modern test and learn environments.

    Ravuri brings a wealth of knowledge in cloud platforms, service design and agile engineering gained as director of software development at Amazon. 

  • Former Deloitte CMO Teresa Barreira joins Publicis.Sapient

    Former Deloitte CMO Teresa Barreira joins Publicis.Sapient

    MUMBAI: Publicis.Sapient, the digital business transformation hub of Publicis Groupe focussed on partnering with clients to advance their business performance, has appointed Teresa Barreira as the company’s new chief marketing officer (CMO).

    Barreira is a senior leader with experience at consulting and technology firms including Deloitte, Accenture and IBM. She joins Publicis.Sapient from Deloitte Consulting, where she was CMO, bringing over two decades of global, business-to-business marketing experience in the IT and professional services industries with expertise in brand building and reinvention, digital and agile marketing, omni-channel and client-centric strategies.

    As CMO at Publicis.Sapient, Barreira will oversee the global marketing function across 100-plus offices with responsibility for market strategy, client experience, brand and corporate communication. 

    Barreira will be a member of the Publicis.Sapient executive leadership team, supporting business growth and working to solidify Publicis.Sapient’s position as an industry leader in digital business transformation—bringing together the experience design, technology and consulting expertise of SapientRazorfish and Sapient Consulting. She will work to support greater integration across its capabilities, establish market differentiation, transform its relationship with clients and attract the best industry talent.

    The appointment marks the next step in Publicis.Sapient’s focus on delivering clients’ transformation initiatives through its unique combination of technology, data sciences, creativity and deep industry expertise. Barreira will report to Nigel Vaz, Publicis Groupe executive committee member, global lead digital business transformation and CEO of Publicis.Sapient International.

    Said Vaz, “Teresa has a tremendous track record as a senior leader with large technology and consulting firms, building strong market leadership and differentiation as well as leading high-performance global teams. Her vast experience and wealth of expertise make her the perfect person to help drive Publicis.Sapient forward and to ensure our continued recognition as a market leader accelerating our clients’ businesses by ensuring they successfully reimagine and transform their business for the digital age.”

    “I’m excited to join Publicis.Sapient at an important time in its evolution. Publicis.Sapient has an unmatched track record in helping businesses to reinvent themselves for the digital age. As the worlds of marketing, technology and consulting converge, and as clients look to keep pace with changing consumer expectations, partners in these efforts are more important than ever. I’m thrilled to be joining such a renowned market leader as Publicis.Sapient and for the opportunity to make significant impact for our clients at a time of such unprecedented opportunity,” said Barreira.

  • Sapient India appoints Sanjay Menon as MD

    MUMBAI: Sapient has announced that Sanjay Menon has taken over the position of managing director of Sapient India with immediate effect.

    In this role, Menon will drive the strategy, capability development, and growth of Sapient’s India presence and maintain its status as hub of the company’s globally distributed delivery network.

    Menon, who will continue his responsibility of leading delivery out of India as global head of service lines for Sapient Razorfish, takes on this new role from Rajdeep Endow. Endow has taken on the role of the managing director, Sapient Razorfish, Asia Pacific, and is responsible for leading strategy and growth for the region and helping clients reimagine their business through radical customer-centricity.

    A 16-year veteran, Menon has been instrumental in growing Sapient’s India operations since its inception. He has successfully served in various business and delivery roles including running key account P&Ls, managing global delivery for some of the business units as well as growing digital marketing services capability from India.

    “Sanjay has been a key part of the India leadership team, and has played an instrumental role in promoting our culture and building capabilities. As India continues to remain a strategic talent market for Publicis. Sapient, I am confident Sanjay will help us strengthen our brand that has always attracted the best engineering minds,” said Publicis Sapient co-chief executive officer Chip Register.

  • Prashanth Challapalli joins Leo Burnett

    Prashanth Challapalli joins Leo Burnett

    MUMBAI: Leo Burnett announced Prashanth Challapalli as the chief integration officer for South Asia.

    In his new mandate, Challapalli will work with leaders across Publicis Communications to drive integration, and will report to Publicis Communications India CEO Saurabh Varma. His last stint was with iContract, where he was the executive vice president and digital head.

    At Leo Burnett, his key mandate predominantly includes operationalizing and scaling up Leo Burnett’s unique methodology, PLAY, which puts context at the heart of creating content. Prashanth will also be a key bridge between Publicis Communications and Publicis.Sapient, responsible for bringing the best of Publicis.Sapient to all clients.

    Varma said, “Prashanth will be key as we put digital at the core of our offering and increasingly create cutting edge ideas and stories which emanate from the product itself.”

    Added Prashanth, “I have always been a big believer in one brand, one consumer and one communication approach and most of the leaders at Publicis Communications are either ex-colleagues or friends for a long time.”

    With over 19 years of experience, Prashanth has worked with agencies like Ogilvy, Lowe, Dentsu, Publicis Ambience and Rediffusion Y&R, and has also successfully built and lead Jack in the Box Worldwide and iContract in the digital space. He has won multiple national and international awards like EFFIES, Spikes, and AME, among others, for his work across brands and campaigns like Puma, Pepsi, Slice, Louis Philippe, Durex and Kolaveri Di.

  • Prashanth Challapalli joins Leo Burnett

    Prashanth Challapalli joins Leo Burnett

    MUMBAI: Leo Burnett announced Prashanth Challapalli as the chief integration officer for South Asia.

    In his new mandate, Challapalli will work with leaders across Publicis Communications to drive integration, and will report to Publicis Communications India CEO Saurabh Varma. His last stint was with iContract, where he was the executive vice president and digital head.

    At Leo Burnett, his key mandate predominantly includes operationalizing and scaling up Leo Burnett’s unique methodology, PLAY, which puts context at the heart of creating content. Prashanth will also be a key bridge between Publicis Communications and Publicis.Sapient, responsible for bringing the best of Publicis.Sapient to all clients.

    Varma said, “Prashanth will be key as we put digital at the core of our offering and increasingly create cutting edge ideas and stories which emanate from the product itself.”

    Added Prashanth, “I have always been a big believer in one brand, one consumer and one communication approach and most of the leaders at Publicis Communications are either ex-colleagues or friends for a long time.”

    With over 19 years of experience, Prashanth has worked with agencies like Ogilvy, Lowe, Dentsu, Publicis Ambience and Rediffusion Y&R, and has also successfully built and lead Jack in the Box Worldwide and iContract in the digital space. He has won multiple national and international awards like EFFIES, Spikes, and AME, among others, for his work across brands and campaigns like Puma, Pepsi, Slice, Louis Philippe, Durex and Kolaveri Di.