CXO Moves: YouTube’s gets a new CEO; Riot Games, KidZania India, Cheil get senior executives

Executive moves in the world of brands and agencies. Find out who’s moved up, in and out.

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  • Storyboard18,
| February 20, 2023 , 8:00 am
Get the full picture on people and their moves on the corporate jungle gym in CXO Moves. (From left to right: Neal Mohan, chief executive officer, YouTube; Rahul Dhamdhere, chief marketing officer, KidZania India, Neeraj Bassi, chief growth officer, Cheil India; and Arun Rajappa, country manager - India and South Asia, Riot Games)
Get the full picture on people and their moves on the corporate jungle gym in CXO Moves. (From left to right: Neal Mohan, chief executive officer, YouTube; Rahul Dhamdhere, chief marketing officer, KidZania India, Neeraj Bassi, chief growth officer, Cheil India; and Arun Rajappa, country manager - India and South Asia, Riot Games)

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.

Neal Mohan
Neal Mohan

Neal Mohan

Previous: chief product officer, YouTube

Present: chief executive officer, YouTube

Neal Mohan has replaced Susan Wojcicki as the chief executive officer. At present, he is the chief product officer and has looked after YouTube products, user experience, trust and safety on a global level. He has managed creation and enforcement of platform policies, and has been accountable for overall business success and growth of YouTube.

Mohan is armed with an experience of more than two decades and has worked across Accenture, DoubleClick, Microsoft, MMA Global, Google, 23andMe and Stitch Fix.

Arun Rajappa
Arun Rajappa

Arun Rajappa

Previous: director of product management, Google

Present: country manager – India and South Asia, Riot Games

Video game developer Riot Games has appointed Arun Rajappa as the country manager for India and South Asia region. Rajappa will be taking charge of business development in the respective markets. This will include leading and hiring for a team to curate hyperlocal activities and develop immersive player experiences for Riot Games’ growing pool of players across various titles, esports, and entertainment.

Rajappa has an experience of more than two decades and has worked across Wipro Technologies, Velankani Information Systems, Microsoft and Twyst.in.

Tushar Nerkar

Previous: brand manager, Parag Milk Foods

Present: head of marketing, Parag Milk Foods

Cheese manufacturing company Parag Milk Foods has promoted Tushar Nerkar to the position of the head of marketing. Nerkar is armed with an experience of more than a decade and has worked across Jet Airways, and Havmor Ice Cream.

Rahul Dhamdhere
Rahul Dhamdhere

Rahul Dhamdhere

Previous: head – marketing operations, Nexus Malls

Present: chief marketing officer, KidZania India

Global indoor entertainment and learning centre KidZania India has appointed Rahul Dhamdhere as the chief marketing officer. In his new role, he will lead strategic industry partnerships and alliances, group sales and the marketing departments.

Dhamdhere is armed with an experience of two decades and has worked across Egana India, DDB Mudra, HCC, Inorbit Malls, L&T Realty and Piramal Realty.

Manan Shah

Previous: director marketing – India and South East Asia, Truecaller

Manan Shah has stepped down from his position at Truecaller, a smartphone application company. As per his LinkedIn profile, his current update shows self-employed angel investor and marketing investor.

Shah has an experience of more than a decade and has worked across Rediffusion Y&R, Euro RSCG India, Leo Burnett, Havas Worldwide, Cheil India and Contract India.

Hitesh Sachdeva

Previous: partner solutions manager, Meta

Present: head of growth and marketing, Coffeee.io

Tech recruitment startup Coffeee.io has onboarded Hitesh Sachdeva as the head of growth and marketing. Sachdeva has an experience of more than a decade and has worked across The Smart Cube, Alshaya Group, Uber and Paytm.

Neeraj Bassi
Neeraj Bassi

Neeraj Bassi

Previous: chief strategy officer, Havas Group India

Present: chief growth officer, Cheil India

Communications solutions agency Cheil India has appointed Neeraj Bassi as the chief growth officer. The agency said that he will lead Cheil India’s business growth by adding to the roster of new clients and help in delivering work that builds on the agency’s capabilities in creative, media, data, activation, and retail.

Bassi has an experience of more than two decades and has worked across IMRB, TNS NFO, Ogilvy & Mather, JWT, Coffee&Chocolate and Publicis.

Srijib Mallik

Previous: executive director & MD NU 3.0, TBWA\Worldwide

Present: head of business – Samsung, Cheil Worldwide

Advertising agency company Cheil Worldwide has appointed Srijib Mallik as Samsung’s head of business. In his new role, Mallik will be responsible for managing the Samsung business and foster deeper engagement with them across functions.

Mallik has an experience of two decades and has worked across JWT, Saatchi & Saatchi, Publicis Groupe, Wieden + Kennedy, Rediffusion DY&R, Bates 141, Bates CHI & Partners and Creativeland Asia etc.

Ashutosh Jaiswal

Previous: creative strategy director, FCB Interface

Present: vice president – strategic planning, BBH India

Advertising agency BBH India has appointed Ashutosh Jaiswal as the vice president – strategic planning. In his new role, he will continue to elevate brand strategy at the agency through a keen understanding of consumer needs and driving growth through new business.

Jaiswal has an experience of more than a decade and has worked across ICICI Bank, WDS Online, Infectious Advertising, Denstu Webchutney and Flying Cursor Interactive.

Juneston Mathana

Previous: executive creative director, Grey Group

Present: executive creative director, Ogilvy

Advertising company Ogilvy has roped in Juneston Mathana as the executive creative director. He has an experience of 18 years and has worked across Tempest, DDB Mudra Group, Leo Burnett and McCann Worldgroup.

Varghese John
Varghese John

Varghese John

Previous: vice president, Lowe Lintas

Varghese John stepped down as the vice president from Lowe Lintas, the creative agency of MullenLowe Lintas Group. He announced his departure via LinkedIn. He stated in the post, “On a break for a bit, before I take on a new adventure.”

John has an experience of more than two decades and has worked across Fountainhead, Rubecon Communications and Lowe Lintas and Partners.

Ashish Satish Naik and Ankit Sethi

Previous: director agency business, OLX Advertising, and regional business head, ShareChat, respectively

Present: senior business director, west and south, and business director, north, iCubesWire, respectively

Digital marketing agency iCubesWire has hired Ashish Satish Naik and Ankit Sethi. In this new role, Naik will be responsible for expanding iCubesWire’s business in these regions, identifying new opportunities and building strong relationships with key clients.

Naik is armed with an experience of more than a decade and has worked across Times Internet and Network18.

Sethi has an experience of 15 years and has worked across Wipro, Reliance Broadcast Network, Wisden Cricinfo, Brandscape Fashion and Paytm.

(Image source: LinkedIn)

(Compiled by Kashmeera Sambamurthy)

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