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Tag: Thomas Puliyel

  • Kantar makes management changes at IMRB International

    Kantar makes management changes at IMRB International

    MUMBAI: Kantar has announced a change of leadership at IMRB International, which will see Preeti Reddy take over from long-serving president Thomas Puliyel when he retires in August, this year.

    Reddy, currently senior vice-president, will work alongside Puliyel during the next few months as the transition takes effect. Once president, she will report to Kantar president Wayne Levings.

    Levings commented, “Thomas has made an outstanding contribution to IMRB and the broader Indian research market throughout his long and distinguished career. Under his leadership, IMRB has continued to improve and innovate around its offering, expanded into new markets and sectors and has been consistently recognised as the leading research agency in India. He leaves with our thanks and best wishes for his retirement.”

    Levings further added, “In Preeti, we have an excellent new leader of IMRB. She brings a combination of strong client leadership, general management and consulting capabilities. With the very strong leadership team she has around her, IMRB will continue to build on its world-class foundations.”

    Reddy has close to three decades of experience in research and consulting, working with leading Indian and multinational companies. She joined the IMRB group in 2009 when she was appointed CEO of LMRB in Sri Lanka. She has previously worked in consumer consulting at Technopak, was senior vice-president at TNS India and has worked with the BAT group in India.

    Reddy said, “I’m delighted to be leading such a diversified and vibrant business which continues to define research in the region. We have a great team of experienced and highly competent managers to head our different businesses and I look forward to working with them to build IMRB into an even bigger and better business.”

    In other management changes, effective 1 February, 2015, Jasojit Mookerjea, currently responsible for International Business Unit (IBU) senior vice-president and IMRB One joint head will take on full responsibility for IMRB One as well as heading change management and managing the key account directors within the company.

    Currently IBU BAT global account director and vice president Sreeram Sreenivasan will take overall charge as IBU senior vice-president based in London. Diptya Mukherjee will continue in his role as IBU vice-president based in Calcutta. The management team at IBU is being further strengthened under the leadership of Sreenivasan and Mukherjee and the proposed changes will be communicated in due course.

    Senior vice-president Vivek Gupta will head the Auto, BFSI and Telecom sectors, while the Brand Science business will be merged into IMRB One.

    Puliyel joined IMRB in 1981 as manager, overseas projects and remained with the company until 1992 before moving to set up Research International India as country manager. He returned to IMRB as president in 2000. The company has been named research agency of the year eight times since 2005 and Puliyel has twice served as president of the Market Research Society of India.

    Puliyel said, “IMRB is a wonderful place to work in. The open, empowered work environment is a great magnet for the best research talent. The freedom that the company provides makes it a great place to learn and realize one’s potential.”

     

  • IMRB gets ‘MR Agency of the Year’ award

    MUMBAI: IMRB International (formerly Indian Market Research Bureau) has been bestowed the title of “Mr Agency of the Year” at the recently concluded 22nd Annual Seminar of the Market Research Society of India (MRSI).

    The market research, survey and business consultancy firm has bagged this honour for the sixth time since the inception of the award in 2005.

    The annual MRSI seminar is a competitive showcase of the best work carried out by research professionals during the year. It highlights the latest technological and statistical developments in the market research industry.

    The seminar this year was focused on the theme Research in the Age of Pragmatism‘. The research industry showcased how the industry is reinventing itself by reinterpreting and redesigning its offers, approaches and solutions.

    11 of the 21 competitive papers presented at the Seminar were from IMRB and six of these were awarded for their excellence.

    A panel of senior marketing and research professional shortlisted the best papers from the entries submitted by researchers and marketing professionals. These were showcased at the two day conference held in Delhi on 17 and 18 December.

    IMRB International president Thomas Puliyel said “This is indeed a very proud moment for us. This peer recognition of IMRB‘s quality, coming on the back of the award of the ISO 20252 Certification for our Field and Analytics units is a great way to end 2012.”

    Established in 1971, IMRB International is a part of Kantar. IMRB‘s footprint extends across South Asia, Middle East & North Africa and Europe through its 26 offices. IMRB International‘s specialised areas includes consumer market research both quantitative and qualitative, industrial market research, business to business research, social and rural market research, media research, retail and shopper research and consumer panels.

  • NDTV seeks clear answers, asks WPP to stop obfuscating real issues

    NDTV seeks clear answers, asks WPP to stop obfuscating real issues

    MUMBAI: In typical NDTV reportage style, the news broadcaster has fired a fresh salvo at Sir Martin Sorrell seeking answers from the CEO of global marketing communications agency WPP on issues that relate to corruption in televisions ratings in India.

    NDTV (New Delhi Television Ltd), which filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court of New York on 26 July 2012 against TAM, Nielsen, Kantar and WPP, has sought to know why TAM has not stopped publishing its ratings from 1 July despite assurances by Thomas Puliyel, President IMRB International, a subsidiary of Kantar.

    TAM Media Research, which is owned equally by WPP (through its subsidiaries including Kantar) and Nielsen, is the only agency providing the television ratings service in India.

    The news broadcaster also sought to know if Sorrell was aware that Kantar CEO Eric Salama had apologised to NDTV at a meeting on 11 April 2012 after hearing Robert Messemer, head of security at Nielsen, admit to “severe corruption” in TAM system.

    The past few days have seen a ping pong match of accusations and clarifications between WPP and NDTV, after WPP first issued a statement on 22 August saying it is considering filing a defamation suit against NDTV and would also be moving the court in New York for dismissal of the NDTV lawsuit arguing India was the right jurisdiction for hearing the NDTV case.

    After WPP disclosed contents of emails written by NDTV’s Vikram Chandra and Eric Salama, NDTV on Monday evening issued another statement demanding answers from Martin Sorrell.

    Reproduced below is the statement from NDTV:

    NDTV ASKS FOR ANSWERS

    The past few days have been a master class in how to obfuscate the real issues behind the TAM ratings row.

    Sir Martin‘s large team has avoided answering the key questions we had asked. We‘d like to ask again if Sir Martin is aware of some of these facts. Here are just 6 of the real key questions:

    1. Is it true that on the 11th of April 2012, the head of security for Nielsen, Robert Messemer admitted to severe corruption in the TAM system? And that the head of research, Paul Donato admitted to other severe errors in TAM data and systems?

    2. Is it true that Nielsen and Kantar launched their own investigation in January this year, following which they witnessed and verified details about corruption in the system, including audio and video recordings, and statements from a whistleblower?

    3. Is it true that the CEO of Kantar, Eric Salama apologised to NDTV at the meeting on April 11, after hearing Mr. Messemer, and promised immediate action?

    4. Is it true that Sir Martin Sorrell was personally informed about the problems in August 2011, in the presence of several witnesses? What were the specific steps that were taken after this?

    5. Is it true that the flawed TAM data continues to be published, despite an assurance that it would be stopped on the 31st July?

    6. Is it true that other broadcasters and NDTV have been pointing to flaws in the TAM system for years? And that the News Broadcasters Association of India has now asked for TAM ratings to be suspended till issues are resolved?

    While it is true that NDTV has suffered extensive damages, we have consistently been focused on helping Nielsen, Kantar and TAM to fix their own systems.

    The issues with TAM ratings were first raised by NDTV eight years ago, when it was a clear undisputed number one even according to TAM.

    For several months this year, NDTV worked closely with the highest levels of Nielsen and Kantar, as they investigated their own TAM ratings system in India. We didn‘t breathe a word about it to the press. There was no talk of “financial settlement”. What we asked was that the TAM system be cleaned up.

    We first made the threat of legal action on June 4, after it became clear that no meaningful action was being taken. Finally, we had no choice but to file the lawsuit because it was felt there was no other way to secure real change in the TAM system.

    In our statement two days back we said NDTV‘s lawyers have made no approach for settlement after the lawsuit was filed and communicated. This is perfectly true. The email from NDTV CEO Vikram Chandra, which WPP has selectively quoted from, was in fact the communication of the lawsuit to Nielsen and Kantar. It was a lengthy mail containing details of the suit, the cause for
    damages and the reason why it was filed in the USA. As is routine in such communications, it also contained an invitation to talk, together with the attached lawsuit. Just as we have been working for a long period together with Nielsen, Kantar and TAM to repair their system in India.

    NDTV has no desire to get into a prolonged trial by media with WPP.

    Our key intent in all these years has been to secure the cleaning up of the TAM ratings system. That desire is clearly shared by just about every stakeholder in the Indian broadcasting sector, and we are deeply grateful for the extensive support that this demand has received.

    We would now urge WPP to avoid a further obfuscation of the real issues and to turn its attention to the basic facts that are contained in our lawsuit. (End of NDTV Statement)

    The news broadcaster‘s intent has been to extract solutions that would clean up the TV ratings system in India. And in this overriding concern, NDTV feels it has extensive support of the broadcasting sector in India.

    Also Read:

    The fight gets vengeful; WPP discloses Vikram Chandra‘s email

    NDTV-WPP spat gets ugly; NDTV reveals Kantar CEO’s email sought end to litigation