Tag: Varun Channa

Mindshare Malaysia ups Cindy Chia to general manager

MUMBAI: Mindshare Malaysia has restructured the management of the agency by promoting Cindy Chia to the newly created role of general manager, with her new responsibilities encompassing talent and office management, in addition to her existing client leadership role.

Chia has been with the agency since 1999.

Commenting on Chia’s contribution to Mindshare over the years, Mindshare Malaysia managing director Varun Channa said, “Cindy’s is a classic case of nurturing internal talent. She joined the agency in 1999 as a Planner and steadily rose through the ranks over the next nine years to the position of director. She has led some of our biggest, most prestigious global blue-chip accounts and has consistently delivered cut-through communications solutions for these clients. Now she moves into a new phase of her career, where she is taking on other responsibilities related to office management and talent growth.”

Chia added, “I’m truly honoured to be entrusted with this role. This is an exciting time for media because everything is now fluid and adaptive. Through Mindshare’s Adaptive Marketing Framework, we’re in a position to play an even greater role in growing our clients’ business and help them thrive in the “chaos” around. I look forward to add greater value to our clients and to the industry.”

January 11, 2016
Mindshare Malaysia bags media mandate for Pizza Hut

MUMBAI: Mindshare Malaysia has been appointed as the media agency for Pizza Hut’s business.

Mindshare Malaysia will be covering the full suite of media services, including planning and buying paid media, managing Pizza Hut’s social media assets as well as business and consumer data analytics.

Mindshare Malaysia won the account following a competitive pitch with three other agencies in January 2015. The appointment is effective 1 June, 2015.

Mindshare Malaysia managing director Varun Channa said, “We are delighted to be given stewardship of this iconic brand. It’s one of the most exciting brands in the marketplace and our team thoroughly enjoyed working on this pitch. We will use our Adaptive Marketing approach OTF and proprietary tools to deliver Pizza Hut’s business goals in these challenging market conditions.”

April 16, 2015
Varun Channa appointed as Mindshare Malaysia MD

MUMBAI: Mindshare APAC, the global media agency network part of WPP, has appointed Varun Channa as managing director of Mindshare Malaysia.

Channa takes over the role from Mindshare managing director Gerald Wittenberger, who returned to Europe at the end of 2014.

Mindshare Asia Pacific COO Gowthaman Ragothaman said, “We are totally delighted to welcome Varun on board, who brings a wealth of experience across industries and markets. This is the beginning of a new chapter in the whole new world of connected media, where content, creativity and consumer data in the Malaysian market is at the centre of all activities and importance.”

GroupM Malaysia CEO Girish Menon added, “With Varun, we have hit upon a fantastic combination – with JWT, he honed his skills in developing communications solutions for some iconic global brands and then as a tech-savvy marketer with Danone in three different fast-growing, competitive markets, he got his hands dirty developing marketing solutions to deliver strong business results. I believe these are the combination of skills and experiences that our clients increasingly expect from the head of their agency, so I am confident that Varun will lead Mindshare to even greater success.”

Channa said, “It’s a pleasure to be part of Mindshare Malaysia in these exciting times when media is playing an even greater role in growing our clients’ business. Seeing the pipeline of innovative digital solutions we have, I look forward to us adding greater value to our clients’ business.”

He joins Mindshare after six years with Danone Indonesia, where he helped turn around their fresh dairy business and developed the roadmap for their Isotonics. Prior to that, he was marketing head and part of the start-up team for Danone India and also spent nearly 15 years with JWT India at their Mumbai office working with Unilever and other key clients.

April 6, 2015