Keep up with all the key people movements in the brand marketing ecosystem in Storyboard18’s CXO Moves. Here’s a round-up of the executives who are in, out and in-between.
Paul-Robert Bouhier
Present: Managing Director, India, Pernod Ricard
French liqueur company Pernod Ricard has appointed Paul-Robert Bouhier as the managing director for the India region. Bouhier will assume the role starting January 2023. He succeeds Thibault Cuny, who resigned in October due to health issues. Further, he also joins the Asia executive committee of the business.
In his new role, he will modify the firm’s India business strategy, strengthen the organisation and its workforce, and recognise new opportunities for profitable and sustainable business expansion.
Recently, Mondelez International appointed Ann Mukherjee, who is the chairwoman and chief executive officer of Pernod Ricard North America, to its board of directors. Her role would be effective, starting from January 1 2023.
Vinay Pant
Previous: Vice President – Marketing, Maruti Suzuki India
Present: Global Marketing, Tata Motors
Tata Motors has appointed Vinay Pant to head the global marketing for the company’s passenger vehicles division. Pant has an experience of three decades and he has worked across GfK, Hero MotoCorp, TNS NFO, IMRB International and Reckitt Benckiser (India).
He spent 15 years at Maruti Suzuki India where he started off as the head of consumer insights.
Shagun Seda
Previous: Marketing Director – Films and Series, Netflix India
Shagun Seda has stepped down as the marketing director of Netflix India. During her stint, she defined how title marketing is done for the growing streaming entertainment category.
Seda has an experience of 19 years and has worked across MullenLowe Lintas Group and TBWA\India.
Recently, the streaming company partnered with boAt, an audio and wearables brand to launch a noise canceling range of wireless devices.
Smita Murarka
Previous: Chief Marketing Officer, Duroflex
Smita Murarka, who had held the position of a chief marketing officer at sleep solutions firm Duroflex stepped down from her position in the month of November.
Armed with experience of 18 years, Murarka has worked across brand-comm, Bulchee, Landmark Group, Lifestyle International and MAS Holdings.
In October, for FY22, Duroflex reported a revenue of 900 crores.
Vinay Choletti
Previous: Head, WhatsApp Pay India
Vinay Choletti has stepped down as the head of WhatsApp Pay India. This move comes four months after he assumed the role. Choletti has an experience of 18 years and has worked across ITC Limited, Citibank, American Express, GreenNGood, Arete Financial Partners, Mashreq Bank and Amazon.
In November, the head of Facebook India Ajit Mohan stepped down. After two weeks, WhatsApp India head Abhijit Bose and Meta India public policy head Rajiv Aggarwal too decided to move on from Meta. Meta has so far laid off 11,000 employees.
Russell Barrett
Previous: CCO and CEO, BBH India
Russell Barrett, who served as the chief creative officer and chief executive officer at Publicis Groupe’s BBH India has stepped down from his position. Himanshu Saxena, who is the COO and MD will step into Barrett’s role.
Barrett has experience of more than two decades and he started his career with Rediffusion DY&R. Then, he went on to work with Ogilvy & Mather, Leo Burnett and Bates 141.
In September, the agency elevated Priya Gurnani and Arvind Menon as executive creative directors.
Harsh Shah and Ashit Chakravarty
Previous: Managing Partner and Executive Vice President – Business, Dentsu Creative
Present: President – West and Managing Partner, Dentsu Creative
Global creative digital network Dentsu Creative has promoted Harsh Shah and Ashit Chakravarty as the president of the western region and managing partner. Shah has an experience of 14 years and he has worked across Atos Origin, Dentsu Webchutney, Abbott Healthcare and Reliance Broadcast Network. At Dentsu Webchutney, Shah started off as the vice president.
Chakravarty has experience of 17 years and has worked across Euro RSCG, Contract Advertising, Leo Burnett, Dentsu Aegis Network and Zopper.com. At Dentsu Webchutney, he started off as the vice president – account management and planning.
Ananya Agrawal
Previous: Head Of Media + Martech, AB InBev India
Present: Head of Digital Marketing & Media, Premium Business, TVS Motor Company
TVS Motor Company has appointed Ananya Agrawal as the head of digital marketing and media, premium business. Agrawal has an experience of 14 years and has worked across Quattro, DU BEAT, Publicis Capital Advertising, Mogae Digital, Mudra Communications, Reprise Media, Royal Enfield and Career Break.
Saurabh Saksena
Previous: President, Red Fuse Communications
Present: Chief Executive Officer, VMLY&R India
WPP’s VMLY&R India has appointed Saurabh Saksena as the chief executive officer. He will be responsible for driving the integration of VMLY&R’s capabilities across India – from creative excellence to transformational solutions at the intersection of brand and customer experience (BX & CX), data, platforms and commerce.
Saksena has experience of more than two decades and he has worked across Clarion Communications, Ogilvy Outreach, DDB Mudra Communications, Mid Day and JWT.
In a recent conversation with Storyboard18, WPP’s chief executive officer, Mark Read had said, “India is our best performing market globally for the last 10 years. It has been our fifth or sixth biggest market in WPP. If you say one day we will overtake the UK, it wouldn’t surprise me.”
Priyankar Singh
Previous: Senior Regional Manager – Marketing and Communication
Present: General Manager – Marketing, Barista Coffee
Cafe company Barista has appointed Priyankar Singh as the general manager – marketing. Singh’s responsibilities would include creating high impact marketing campaigns and working towards strengthening brand connect.
Singh started his career with Tag Media Network. His experience spans across marketing and brand strategy, retail marketing, driving growth, customer innovation and team management, alliances and celebrity management along with new launches.
Vikas Purohit
Previous: Chief Executive Officer, Tata CLiQ
Vikas Purohit has stepped down as the chief executive officer of Tata CLiQ, an e-commerce company owned by Tata Unistore. As he announced his departure via LinkedIn, he added, “I take a short break and look forward to my next stint that starts in Jan.”
Purohit has an experience of two decades and has worked across Aditya Birla Group, Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail, Reliance Brands, Planet Retail and Amazon.
It has been recently announced that by January, Tata CLiQ plans to add 10 news brands to its portfolio. The main focus would be clothing, accessories, handbags and footwear.
Deepak Gupta
Previous: Chief Business Officer, Bombay Shaving Company
Present: Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer, Bombay Shaving Company
Bombay Shaving Company has added the designation of co-founder to Deepak Gupta’s existing one which is chief operating officer. Gupta has an experience of 16 years and he has worked across Ashok Leyland and Colgate Palmolive.
Prasanna Raman
Previous: Vertical Lead, Snap
Present: Head of FMCG Enterprise Sales, Sharechat
Social media company Sharechat has appointed Prasanna Raman as the head of FMCG Enterprise Sales. Raman has an experience of 16 years and has worked across Google, Interactive Avenues, GroupM and Facebook.
Aejaz Khan
Previous: Managing Director and Global Head of Account, Spark44
Present: Chief Executive Officer, Makani Creatives
Advertising agency Makani Creatives has appointed Aejaz Khan as the chief creative officer. His responsibility would be to strengthen the agency’s reputation and monitor the performance of the company across all the dimensions.
Khan has an experience of 29 years and has worked across Adverts Advertising, Grey, McCann Erickson India, Ogilvy & Mather, Lowe and Partners Worldwide, Impact BBDO, Publicis, Lowe Lintas and TBWA/India.
Nitin Vermani
Previous: Sr. Manager – Growth and Performance Marketing, LEAD School
Present: Head of Marketing, MYRE Capital
Tech-enabled platform MYRE Capital has appointed Nitin Vermani as the head of marketing. Through him, the company aims to achieve a robust brand positioning by strengthening performance marketing and customer relationship management (CRM) capability.
Vermani has worked across Perfect Relations, Torque Communications, Everymedia Technologies and Shemaroo Entertainment.
Sudeep Nagar
Present: Co-founder, BlueStone
Fine jewellery brand BlueStone has promoted Sudeep Nagar to the position of a co-founder. Nagar has an experience of 17 years and has worked across HCL Technologies, CSC and Lodha Group. Nagar’s experience spans across sales, operations, strategy, online sales and promotions, retail store operations, logistics, manufacturing, B2B sales, sales strategy, P&L management.