Category: Brand Makers

Mars Wrigley elevates Kalpesh Parmar as GM – Asia, and appoints Tamer Kadry as India GM

Kalpesh Parmar and Tamer Kadry are currently transitioning into their respective roles. (From left to right: Kalpesh Parmar and Tamer Kadry)

Kalpesh Parmar will lead business operations of the chocolate, gum, and fruity confections segments across all Asia markets as well as the pet nutrition segment in South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

IndiaCast appoints Piyush Goyal as COO

In his new role, Piyush Goyal will closely work with the operating heads of TV News, Entertainment and Sports businesses of the Network18 Group. He will report into Network18’s Managing Director Rahul Joshi.

In a career spanning over 20 years, Piyush Goyal has worked in leading companies like Star TV, Network18, NDTV and DEN Networks.

Everyone from HR to R&D should do sales, says Adobe India MD Prativa Mohapatra. Find out why

Adobe India's MD, Prativa Mohapatra says, "I will take the liberty and say, everyone right from HR to R&D, should do a sales job. It’s important for everyone to understand what a brand stands for, what they sell. It gives you a lot of clarity and changes your perception about the realities of the business when you meet real consumers."

Adobe India MD Mohapatra shares her thoughts on the India advantage, role of sales and marketing, CEO-CMO partnerships.

MX Player’s Nikhil Gandhi quits the Times-owned streamer

If the deal does go through, Amazon Prime Video's customer base could increase fourfold as MX Player has an estimated 78 million users, while Amazon has around 28 million users in India.

Nikhil Gandhi’s departure from MX Player coincides with the company’s acquisition talks with Amazon.

#ShareTheSpotlight: ‘I work towards empowering women to exercise their agency and take charge of their dating journeys,’ says Bumble’s Samarpita Samaddar

Bumble's Samarpita Samaddar (left) shares the spotlight with IFA's Menaka Rodriguez (right) for the latter's dedication towards the arts in India which is more than often overlooked and underrepresented.

Samarpita Samaddar shares the spotlight with Menaka Rodriguez from India Foundation for the Arts and talks about following her passion through her work and recalls the myriad of challenges she faced while working in the film industry.

#ShareTheSpotlight: ‘There is no harm in being a vulnerable leader. It’s a sign of strength,’ says Mindpeers’ Kanika Agarwal

MindPeers' Kanika Agarwal (left) shares the spotlight with Swati Bhargava (right) from CashKaro for the latter's grace with which she leads the company culture and her positive attitude.

Mental health is not a once-a-year trend. Mindpeers founder Kanika Agarwal talks about being a vulnerable and empathetic leader and shares the spotlight with CashKaro’s Swati Bhargava.

Dalveer Singh quits WPP-owned GroupM’s Dialogue Factory

Prior to joining WPP, Dalveer Singh was the senior vice president at Reliance ADAG. In 2006, he set out to help Reliance ADAG in setting up a specialized Experiential Marketing Force dedicated to market and category expansion for individual businesses.

Dalveer Singh has been associated with the group for 14 years. He was responsible for shaping GroupM’s experiential marketing agency Dialogue Factory.

Media Mavens: ‘Media planning is about capitalising consumer trends and unearthing unique opportunities,’ says Alliance’s V Narayanan

As per Alliance’s V Narayanan, some of the key challenges are: Consumers reach getting more f-r-a-g-m-e-n-ted, building top of mind awareness for a brand in a fiercely contested market place is a huge challenge to procure in a digital world. Further, consumer trust is declining and it is getting more and more difficult to sustain loyalty.

V Narayanan, CEO of Delhi-based Alliance, believes the new formula – C (Creative) x D (data) = CE (Consumer Experience), will change how media planning works.

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz steps down, Laxman Narasimhan assumes leadership ahead of schedule

“We're going to have, early this year here in India, the Starbucks Reserve Monsooned Malabar. This is going to be in all US stores in the middle of the year.”(Image source: CNBC-TV18)

The announcement of his official appointment has come as a surprise, as Starbucks had previously indicated that the transition would not be complete until the end of March, with Narasimhan assuming full duties in April.

Mullen Lintas appoints L&K Saatchi & Saatchi’s Sharon Picardo as executive director

Sharon Picardo has worked with other leading agencies like DDB and L&K Saatchi & Saatchi leading the charge for a wide spectrum of brands. Picardo has also worked with cross-functional teams for brands like Tata Motors, Amul Parle, Big Bazaar, Renault, Diageo, NPCI, ICICI Bank, Bharti AXA, among others.

Sharon Picardo comes with 22 years of experience as a P&L head and brand strategist.