Hires & Promotions: Amazon, SoCheers, Havas

Amazon ropes in Vivek Srivastava as Head of Partnerships for Prime Video Channels, India

Former Times Network President - Strategy & Operations, Digital & Broadcast Vivek Srivastava has joined Prime Video Channels, India as Head of Partnerships. Amazon had launched Prime Video Channels in India on 24th September 2021, our sources reveal.

Srivastava had quit the broadcast network after a seven-year stint. In this role, he was leading the digital operations of the network besides overseeing product strategy, audience development, and operations planning for both digital and broadcast businesses.

Prior to Times Network, Vivek was part of Viacom 18 Media as Head - Commercial and Digital of Colors. His responsibility included handling channel strategy for Colors as a part of their launch team besides managing international business and distribution.

Prime Video Channels, which acts as a marketplace for video entertainment content, provides Prime members with a seamless experience and access to a distinctive slate of content from a diverse set of popular video streaming services. Acting as an intermediary, Prime Video Channels allows Prime members the option for add-on subscriptions of popular OTT services and stream their content on the Amazon Prime Video app and website in India.

At launch, Prime Video Channels had partnerships with eight video-streaming services including discovery+, Lionsgate Play, Docubay, Eros Now, MUBI, hoichoi, Manorama Max, and Shorts TV – each accessible with respective add-on subscriptions.

SoCheers scales up its leadership team with key elevations

SoCheers has elevated some of their core team members from across verticals, namely Content and Brand Experience. The newly elevated members will now be a part of the senior management team, playing a pivotal role in the decision-making process.

Shivani Kamdar, who completed 7 years with the agency this month, has been elevated from Head of Content to Associate Creative Director. In this new role, she will be extending major support to all creative departments, with a core focus on growing the teams, harnessing talent and helping cultivate bigger and more meaningful campaigns for the clients. Keeping a business-centric approach, she will add value to the top as well as the bottom line through her initiatives.

Tanvi Bosmia, who has been associated with SoCheers for more than 8 years, was elevated from the position of Group Account Manager to Associate Account Director of the Brand Experience team. She will be handling the overall clientele of the agency, in charge of bringing in more revenue from a business point of view.

Aakash Gopalani, who was the Account Supervisor, has now been appointed as the Group Account Manager in the Brand Experience team. He will be handling the client communications along with managing a team of 20+ Account Management professionals. He will also be leading the strategic initiatives of 15+ brands' digital presence, followed by exploring newer revenue streams for the organization.

Commenting on these positive changes, Mehul Gupta, Co-Founder & CEO, SoCheers said, “Whether it's client management or content development, each of these newly elevated individuals bring something unique to the table with their wide-ranging industry experience. Shivani, Tanvi and Aakash have been relentlessly contributing to the growth of the agency with their stellar vision and dedication. As we look forward to expanding our client base, catering to brands across different industries like Finance, FMCG and D2C, and onboarding new talent this year, these elevations will be instrumental in achieving our target of 75% growth in 2022.” 

Havas Group India appoints Chandra Dobhal as EVP - Investment

Media professional Chandra Dobhal has joined Havas Group India as Executive Vice President - Investment effective 1st February. Prior to joining Havas, he was Executive Vice President - National Head, Buying and Operations, dentsu International.

"I’m happy to share that I have re-joined the #media planning & buying industry and have started a new inning as Executive Vice President - Investment at Havas Group from 1st Feb '22. I must mention thanks to Venkat, Mohit Joshi and Uday Mohan all my seniors at Havas Group for providing me this opportunity to come back to the mainline media business. I am also seeking best wishes and cooperation from all the friends, partners and stakeholders I am going to work with," Dobhal said in a LinkedIn post.

Dobhal had a 17-year stint at dentsu where he was responsible for developing process of buying and implementation and setting benchmarks to deliver the best products and value to clients. In a career spanning over 2.5 decades, he has also worked with Carat Media Services, Percept H, and Concept Communication.