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.
S Subramanyeswar (Subbu), Amer Jaleel and Virat Tandon
Amer Jaleel and Virat Tandon, who served as the group chief creative officers and chairman, and group CEO, respectively, have quit. S Subramanyeswar (Subbu) is the new group chief executive officer at MullenLowe Lintas Group. As per the agency, all the functions of the Group will now report to Subbu. In addition to his present role, Subbu will lead Lowe Lintas, Mullen Lintas and other marketing services for the agency group. Further, he will also maintain his role as chief strategy officer for the MullenLowe APAC region. Subbu has an experience of two-and-a-half decades in advertising and marketing. He has worked across Wipro, Publicis, Rediffusion Y&R, and Saatchi & Saatchi in India, US and UK.
Read More: MullenLowe Lintas Group: Amer Jaleel and Virat Tandon quit, Subbu new Group CEO
Aditi Anand
Previous: Head – Creative Strategy for Brand Coca-Cola (India & South West Asia), The Coca-Cola Company
Present: General Manager Marketing – L’Oréal Professionnel
Aditi Anand has joined L’Oréal Professionnel as the general manager of marketing. At The Coca-Cola Company, Anand was responsible for translating the brand and business strategy into a consumer strategy and communicating the same through rich, immersive platform ideas. Anand has an experience of 15 years and has worked across Bharti Airtel, Flipkart Internet, Micromax Informatics and HMD Global. On a side note, recently, Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk tweeted a joke about buying The Coca-Cola Company just so he can put cocaine back into the soft drink. Now, this has been framed and hung in the lobby of Twitter headquarters in San Francisco.
Read More: Former Coca-Cola India executive Aditi Anand joins L’Oreal Professionnel as head of marketing
Rayomand Patell
Previous: Chief Creative Officer, Idealake Information Technology
Present: Chief Creative Officer and Chief Integration Officer, Schbang
Schbang has appointed Rayomand Patell as the chief creative officer and chief integration officer. Patell is armed with an experience of 27 years and started his career at Everest Young & Rubicam. He has worked across SSC&B Lintas, Contract India and Havas Worldwide. Recently, Jennifer Chhor joined Schbang as the vice president – integrated solutions where her role would include helping the agency grow their digital media and marketing business.
Jahid Ahmed
Previous: Vice President and Head – Digital, Content and Social Media Marketing, HDFC Bank
Present: Senior Vice President and Head of Digital Marketing, HDFC Bank
HDFC Bank promoted Jahid Ahmed as the senior vice president and head of digital marketing. Ahmed has an experience of 17 years and has worked across Sharp Business, Radio Mirchi, ICICI Securities and Citibank India. He has also been instrumental in institutionalising data driven digital campaigns, Mar-Tech and transformation set ups across various BFSI organisations.
Loveleen Sahrawat
Previous: Head of Brand, Digital, Customer Advocacy and Consumer Insights, Aditya Birla Capital
Present: Chief Marketing Officer, Eduvanz
Loveleen Sahrawat has stepped down from the position of head of brand at Aditya Birla Capital, a financial services company after nine years and has joined digital Fintech NBFC as a chief marketing officer. During her stint, she led marketing teams at the Centre which included brand, digital business, customer advocacy, customer journeys, research & insights and media. Sahrawat has an experience of more than 25 years and has worked across Frank Simoes, McCann, Grey Worldwide, McCann Worldgroup, Future Group India, Ogilvy and Leo Burnett. Ajay Kakar, who held the position of a chief marketing officer at Aditya Birla Group for 15 years recently announced his retirement. Aditya Birla Capital designated Darshana Shah as head – marketing and CX. Previously, she was the executive vice president – digital, marketing and customer experience.
Jaibeer Ahmad
Previous: Senior Vice President, Head – Cheil 2, Cheil Worldwide
Present: Managing Partner – North, Havas Worldwide India
Jaibeer Ahmed, who served as the senior vice president at Cheil India has stepped down from his position. Ahmed has an experience of 22 years and has worked across Lowe Lintas and Partners, Ogilvy & Mather, Draft FCB Ulka, Rediffusion Y&R, Samsung Electronics, Saatchi & Saatchi and J Walter Thompson Company. Ahmed is experienced across categories like FMCG, durables and telecom marketing.
Rubeena Singh
Previous: Country Manager – Josh, VerSe Innovation
Present: Not known
Rubeena Singh has stepped down as the country manager of the homegrown short video platform Josh. Singh has an experience of more than two decades and
and has worked across Star India and spent 12 years of her career at Network18. She also held the position of a chief executive officer at iProspect, Dentsu’s global digital marketing agency. The parent firm of the app, VerSe recently laid off 150 employees in an effort to streamline costs and teams.
Read More: Short video platform Josh’s country manager Rubeena Singh quits
Ajay Kakar
Previous: Chief Marketing Officer, Aditya Birla Group
Ajay Kakar, who headed Aditya Birla Group for 15 years as the chief marketing officer, recently announced his retirement. Kakar has an experience of more than three decades and started his career at Ogilvy. From there, he joined Reliance Capital as the head – branding and communications.
Read More: Aditya Birla Group’s chief marketing officer Ajay Kakar announces retirement
Ankit Kapoor
Previous: Head of Category Marketing – Chocolates & Confectionery, Nestle
Present: Chief Marketing Officer, Ananta Capital
Investment management platform Ananta Capital has appointed Ankit Kapoor as the chief marketing officer. Kapoor has an experience of 15 years and has worked across Dabur India, ITC Limited and SC Johnson. Nestle made an announcement that from next year, it would restrict marketing its confectionery to children under 16 in order to foster healthier lifestyles.
Read More: Former Nestle marketing executive Ankit Kapoor joins Ananta Capital as chief marketing officer
Karthi Kumar Marshan
Previous: President and Chief Marketing Officer, Kotak Mahindra Bank
Karthi Kumar Marshan will step down as the president and chief marketing officer at Kotak Mahindra Bank in January. He will take on an advisory role. At present, Marshan oversees marketing efforts across all verticals which includes insurance, banking, brokerage and asset management. Marshan has an experience of more than three decades and he has worked across Burson Marsteller Communications, Trikaya Grey Advertising, Sharekhan, IDBI Bank and South Asian Television.
Unmesh Pawar
Previous: Investor, Mentor and Advisor, KPMG India
Present: Chief People Officer, India & South Asia, Dentsu
Dentsu has strengthened its leadership team with the appointment of Unmesh Pawar as chief people officer (CPO) for India and South Asia. In his new role, Pawar will report to Luke Speers, chief people officer, Dentsu APAC, and Peter Huijboom, Interim CEO, Dentsu India. Pawar has more than 25 years of experience in diverse aspects of human resources, with an early foundation in services and consulting. He has built differentiated capabilities for well-known brands such as Accenture, Mastek, Tata, and Peerless by designing and deploying innovative talent management practices.
Read More: Dentsu hires Unmesh Pawar as chief people officer for India and South Asia
Khurrum Malik
Previous: Head of Global Business Marketing, Spotify
Present: Chief Marketing Officer, Integral Ad Science
American technology company Integral Ad Science (IAS) has appointed Khurrum Malik as the chief marketing officer. In his new role, Malik will accelerate market growth initiatives for IAS and lead its global marketing strategy. Malik has an experience of 15 years and has worked across Microsoft, Comscore, eXelate, Facebook and Compass. Recently, Spotify’s chief executive officer Daniel Ek slammed Apple. He mentioned that the Apple App Store is a ‘threat to the future of the internet’ that denies consumers choice.
Darshana Shah
Previous: Executive Vice President – Digital, Marketing and Customer Experience, Aditya Birla Health Insurance Company
Present: Head – Marketing and CX, Aditya Birla Capital
Aditya Birla Capital promoted Darshana Shah to the position of head – marketing and customer experience (CX). Shah has 26 years of experience and has worked across Boston Software & Technologies, NIIT, Shoppers Stop, Future Group (Pantaloon Retail India Ltd), Reliance Retail and HyperCITY Retail (India). Recently, Ajay Kakar who served as the chief marketing officer at Aditya Birla Group for 15 years announced his retirement.
Read More: Aditya Birla Capital promotes Darshana Shah as head – marketing and CX
Niket Kumar
Previous: Executive Vice President and Head of Digital, Leo Burnett
Niket Kumar has taken a sabbatical after 19 years in brand marketing and advertising. He started his career at Ogilvy and then worked briefly at HCL Comnet. From there, moved to JWT and then worked at Rediffusion Y&R. He has also worked at McCann, SapientNitro, SapientRazorfish, Aditya Birla Capital and Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance. Recently, Leo Burnett launched a scheme for clients in order to ensure that diversity and inclusion are embedded in advertising. The Everyone Way is a partnership between strategic diversity, equity and inclusion consultancy The Unmistakables and The Diversity Standards Collective, which offers cultural insights and guidance to brands and agencies. Several of Leo Burnett’s clients, including McDonald’s have started using the process.
Rishi Sharma
Previous: Chief Marketing Officer, Zolo
Present: Chief Marketing Officer, Bonito Designs
Home decor and interior design company, Bonito Designs has appointed Rishi Sharma as the chief marketing officer. In his new role, Sharma will focus on facilitating growth and increasing revenue by developing and executing comprehensive marketing strategies.
Rama Paul
Previous: Senior VP, Marketing, ABP Network
Present: Not known
Rama Paul will step down from her position as the senior vice president of marketing at ABP Network by the end of the year. Paul has an experience of three decades and has worked across RK Swamy/ BBDO, Mudra Communications, Universal McCann and Dabur India. In September, ABP Network’s chief executive officer Avinash Pandey was elected as the president of International Advertising Association (IAA).
Vivek Mishra
Previous: Vice President – Digital Product & Business, BARC India
Present: Chief Product Officer, Aqilliz
Blockchain powered data collaboration platform provider Aqilliz has appointed Vivek Mishra as the chief product officer. Mishra’s responsibility will include overseeing product strategy, roadmap and development for all global initiatives at the company. Mishra has an experience of more than a decade and has worked across Tata Consultancy Services and Nielsen.
Read More: Aqilliz appoints Vivek Mishra as chief product officer
Jitin Johnson
Previous: Head of Marketing, Matithi Tech
Present: Vice President, Marketing, Kulfi Collective
Media network Kulfi Collective has appointed Jitin Johnson as the vice president of marketing. Johnson will be responsible for leading the marketing efforts at Kulfi collective and its verticals – Supari Studios, Post Office and Keeda Media. Further, he will also contribute to the development of new concepts, drive strategies and support the company’s vision of being changemakers for the connected generation. Johnson has an experience of more than a decade and he has worked across Adverb Advertising Media India Private Limited, Google, Radio Indigo FM, ReachAll, Geek Online Ventures and Ad Owl Creative Agency.
Naveen Gupta
Previous: National Sales Head, CARS24
Present: Vice President and Country Head, Zoomcar
Car rental company Zoomcar has appointed Naveen Gupta as the vice president and country head. Gupta will be responsible for all aspects of growth, operations and customer experience for Zoomcar. Gupta has an experience of 16 years and started his career at Bharti Airtel. He gained experience at Nokia Siemens Networks, Percept Knorigin, Hero MotoCorp, redBus and Swiggy.
Nitish Mittersain
Present: Chief Executive Officer and Joint Managing Director, Nazara Technologies
Gaming and sports media company Nazara Technologies has given an additional responsibility to Nitesh Mittersain as the chief executive officer. Mittersain has an experience of nine years and has been a member of board across MEF Mobile. At present, he is a member of the board at Young Presidents Organization and is a trustee at Dr B K Goyal Heart Foundation.
Read More: Nitish Mittersain takes over as CEO of Nazara
Compiled by Kashmeera Sambamurthy