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 in the past two weeks. The past 15 days saw several big switches and the revolving doors in agencies keep swirling. We saw some interesting exits including the departure of two founders from an agency they built and was later acquired by an ad holding company. Meanwhile, the maker of Marlboro, Philip Morris International roped in a Tata Group manager to run its pharma company Vectura-Fertin Pharma as country manager. Get the full picture on these moves and all other people’s movements in this week’s CXO Moves.
Mohit Ahuja
Previous: Director (Brand Strategy and Client Services), Mirum Agency
Present: President, Gozoop
Independent marketing group Gozoop has appointed Mohit Ahuja as the president for its Mumbai branch. In his new role, Ahuja will guide his teams in cultivating relationships with clients, and crafting business strategies for the group. He will collaborate with Samrat Bedi, the chief executive officer and will be responsible for the group’s growth story in India. Ahuja, who has more than two decades of experience, has worked across Zee Entertainment, DDB Mudra Group, Ogilvy, McCann Worldgroup, and 82point5. Two weeks ago, Gozoop appointed Burzin Mehta as the chief creative officer, where he would partner with Bedi to focus on building brands of the future.
Joy Mohanty
Previous: Chief Executive Officer, Goldilocks
Present: Chief Creative Officer, Dentsu Creative India
Dentsu Creative India has appointed Joy Mohanty as the chief creative officer. He will be instrumental in accelerating the agency’s growth trajectory in the North region. He will work closely with the creative teams to build solutions that possess the power to transform brands and businesses through the lens of modern creativity. Mohanty, who has more than two decades of experience, has worked across FCB Ulka, Bates Clarion, Contract India and Lowe Lintas. Recently, it was announced that Dentsu was looking to launch its new unit, the Web3 club. It will utilise business designers, creators, content directors, data scientists, engineers and other professionals across the holding company’s network to help clients activate in the Web3 space.
Sagar Boke
Previous: Head – Customer and Shopper Marketing, Foods & Beverages, Tata Consumer Products
Present: Country head – Vectura-Fertin Pharma (A part of Philip Morris International)
Sagar Boke, who had served as the head – customer and shopper marketing, foods and beverages at Tata Consumer Products, has joined Vectura-Fertin Pharma as its country head. Boke, who has two decades of experience, has worked across Dabur India Limited, Godrej Consumer Products Limited, Cavin Kare, Bunge and Tata Chemicals. At Tata Consumer Products, he started his career as the head – marketing of foods business. Three weeks back, it was reported that Tata Consumer Products had entered the health supplements segment with the launch of Tata GoFit, a range of health supplements for women. This launch comes in the wake of the growing consumer awareness for health-focused products.
Further, TCP also entered the alternate meat segment through the launch of the plant based meat category ‘Tata Simply Better’ brand. Here, the company will sell plant-based alternatives for chicken nuggets, chicken burger patty, chicken fingers, and chicken seekh kebabs.
Rohit Raj and Varun Duggirala
Previous: Co-founders, The Glitch
Rohit Raj and Varun Duggirala, who are the founders of VMLY&R network’s digital-first creative agency, The Glitch, are moving on. Raj told Storyboard18 that he has been speaking to several fintech brands to understand the solutions they are seeking and he will be setting up a fintech startup that will help startups fuel their next phase of growth. On the other hand, Duggirala is working on a slow-growth project, telling Storyboard18 that through his content and its ecosystem he will be working to add value to his audience (especially working professionals) by using “my experience and knowledge to help them find balance and clarity in their lives to tap into their innate curiosity. More to come in the next few months as I take my time solidifying how I can make a real impact.”
Raj started his career as a producer at Channel (V) Music, and went on to co-found The Glitch and then influencer marketing company Chatterbox Technologies. Duggirala started his career at MTV as an assistant producer and later worked at Channel V Media. He’s also the host of the podcast shows ‘Advertising is Dead’, ‘Think Fast’, and ‘Take aPause’. He is also the author of “Everything Is Out of Syllabus: An Instruction Manual for Life & Work”.
Manish Kinger
Previous: Senior Creative Director, FCB India
Present: Executive Creative Director, Schbang
Manish Kinger joins Schbang, a marketing solutions agency as the executive creative director. As he made the announcement via LinkedIn, he said, “Looking forward to creating some new-age work with this incredibly creative bunch of Schbangers.” Kinger, who has an experience of more than a decade, has worked across Grey Group, Rediffusion Y&R, ADK Fortune Communications and LiquidIndia. Recently, Schbang announced elevations in its leadership team where Bonsy Mehta was promoted to lead the branding and consumer-centricity division (Schbang Theta) along with its content marketing vertical. Afshaad Kelawaala was hired as the associate vice president – integrated solutions.
Priyaah Sundaraam
Previous: Associate Vice President – Customer Relations, IndiGo
Present: Vice President – Head of Customer Experience and Fulfilment, Cleartrip
Online travel company Cleartrip has appointed Priyaah Sundaraam as the vice president – head of customer experience and fulfilment. Her responsibility includes spearheading the customer experience charter with a focus on building propositions. Sundaraam, who has more than two decades of experience has worked across KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, The Trident, Grand Hyatt and GoAir Indian.
Kaveri Nag
Previous: Lead Marketing at Mini, BMW India
Present: Head of Marketing and Public Relations, United Colors of Benetton India
Italian fashion brand United Colors of Benetton India appointed Kaveri Nag as the head of marketing and PR. Her responsibility will include leading marketing strategy and public relations for the brand. Her work will also involve strengthening Benetton’s vision of a global lifestyle project and revolutionising the canons of fashion and sales. One of her key responsibilities will include engaging with consumers and reconnecting in a more contemporary way to create desire and aspiration for the brand in India. Nag, who has two decades of experience, has worked across McCann Erickson, Ogilvy, Benetton India, Marks and Spencer, Reliance India Private Limited and Natuzzi India.
Megha Tata
Previous: Managing Director, Discovery Communications India
Present: CEO, Cosmos Maya
Animation company Cosmos Maya has appointed Megha Tata as its chief executive officer. In her role, she will oversee the company’s operations and lead the animation studio into its next phase of growth. Her appointment comes in the wake of the company’s recent announcement of a USD 50 million investment plan to facilitate growth and expansion in Europe and North America. Tata, who has more than three decades of experience, has worked across Sunday Mail, Star India, Turner International India, HBO India and BTVi.
Mark Mcdonald
Previous: Head of Creative – Digitas India
Present: Chief Creative Officer, Vector Brand Solutions
Vector Brand Solutions has appointed Mark Mcdonald as the chief creative officer. Mcdonald, who has an experience of more than a decade, has worked across Leo Burnett, Ad Impact and Rare. In August, Digitas India appointed Mohammedullah Shaikh, as senior vice president and head – tech services and Richa Chugh as vice president – media. In August, Vector Brand Solutions turned agency-on-record for Duroflex, a mattress brand.
Benny Augustine
Previous: Chief Financial Officer, Dentsu Webchutney
Present: Chief Operating Officer, Dentsu Creative India
Dentsu Creative India, Dentsu International’s creative network has elevated Benny Augustine to the role of chief operating officer (COO). He will report to Amit Wadhwa, the network’s chief executive officer. Augustine will oversee the operations of Dentsu Creative in India, where his objectives will be to build various frameworks, platforms, and business processes that promote efficiency and effectiveness for clients using modern creativity. Furthermore, he will also aim to foster the company culture by leading internal initiatives and implementing training programs to help develop talent.
Vidyanath PA
Previous: Creative Director, Ogilvy
Present: Group Creative Director, MullenLowe Lintas
MullenLowe Lintas has appointed Vidyanath PA as the group creative director. He has an experience of more than a decade and has worked across Contract Advertising, Bates CHI&Partners, Ogilvy & Mather, Tonnit Design and McCann Worldgroup.
Monosij Bandyopadhyay
Previous: Senior Category Marketing Manager, Mondelez International
Present: Marketing Head – Omnichannel, Mondelez International
Mondelez International has promoted Monosij Bandyopadhyay to the position of marketing head, where he will lead within omnichannel, comprising e-commerce and modern trade. He will be responsible for content, performance marketing, data management, DTC for the company in India.
Bandyopadhyay, who has 15 years of experience has worked across Tata Steel and Reckitt.
Compiled by Kashmeera Sambamurthy