Brand Makers – Page 103

GroupM’s Sparsh Ganguli joins Astus Group as India head

He will be based out of Mumbai and will report to the founding members, Frances Dickens and Paul Jackson.

Sparsh Ganguli has over 25 years of experience and has worked across Star, Sony and BAG Films.

Droom appoints Vishwajeet Singh Rana as head of marketing

Vishwajeet Singh Rana has also worked with companies like Grafik International, Giorgio Armani, McCann Worldgroup, Max New York Life, and HDFC Life.

Vishwajeet Singh Rana’s last full-time stint was with TBWA\Media Arts Lab.

Disney+Hotstar appoints Neha Sharma Katyal as director of agency sales

Neha Sharma Katyal, who has 15 years of experience, was previously employed with Spotify as director of sales.

Mondelez-owned Oreo uses Farhan Akhtar and Artificial Intelligence in new campaign

OREO has introduced special edition packs containing cookies embossed with the letters of the English alphabet. Each pack also comes with a QR code which, once scanned, will redirect the consumer to a microsite where users can share the awkward situation they are in.

The campaign, conceptualised by Leo Burnett India leverages Generative Artificial Intelligence to generate playful answers which then goes to a voice cloning AI engine which plays back the answer in Farhan Akhtar’s voice.

Google lays off director of news Madhav Chinnappa

During his period at BBC, he oversaw the management and development of key broadcast partner relationships, led responsibility on all of BBC News key agency contracts and took responsibility on all commercial revenues into BBC News.

Madhav Chinnappa has been associated with the tech giant for 13 years.

Fractal Ink’s Priyanka Agrawal joins Punt Partners as co-founder

Priyanka Agrawal has been with Fractal Ink since its inception in 2010, and the firm was acquired by the Dentsu group in 2016. After leaving Dentsu, Priyanka started an innovation consulting practice called Forward Slash, focusing on digital transformation for Fortune 500 companies in the US.

Priyanka Agrawal is coming onboard to build a new consulting practice that marries innovation, design and technology and will focus on the North America market.

Havas Media appoints Ramsai Panchapakesan as managing partner- investments

With a career spanning over two decades, Ramsai Panchapakesan served as the senior vice president & national head – media buying at Zenith Media. He played a pivotal role in driving the integrated media business operations. He had also held the position of agency trading head at GroupM m/SIX previously. (L to R: Ramsai Panchapakesan, managing partner- Investments, Havas Media India; Mohit Joshi, chief executive officer, Havas Media Network India; and R Venkatsubramanian, president - investments, Havas Media India, and managing director of Havas Play)

Based out of Gurugram, he will oversee integrated buying in the North and East markets, along with assuming additional responsibilities for trading.

CXO Moves: Exec movements at Dentsu, Wavemaker, GroupM and more

Get the full picture on people and their moves on the corporate jungle gym in CXO Moves. (From left to right: Aalap Desai, Sparsh Ganguli, Ramsai Panchapakesan and Varun Gupta)

Executive moves in the world of brands and agencies.

Bookstrapping: Anatomy of a Breakthrough – How to get unstuck when it matters most by Adam Alter

In the book, there is a part where the author explains, 'If we expect things to stay as they are, we’re poorly prepared to act when we find ourselves stuck. Hence, the first step in managing change is to anticipate it and prepare for it rather than experiencing each new instance as a fresh shock.'

In the book “Anatomy of a Breakthrough – How to get unstuck when it matters most”, the author Adam Alter has 100 tips on how to forge ahead. He explains how one must anticipate change and be prepared for it, and the best way to move forward in the long run is by tapping on the idea of pausing. Rating: 3.5

Why is Air India CEO Campbell Wilson meeting influential Indian diaspora in Palo Alto?

On the issue of in-flight entertainment systems, Wilson highlighted that they were quite old and have been around since the launch of iPhone 1. He assured that by mid-2024, 100 percent retrofitting would be done. (Pictured above - Air India CEO, Campbell Wilson)

Air India’s transformation is well underway with AI executives also leading outreach among influential business communities and brands abroad.