Hires & Promotions: Carat, Indigo Consulting, Gozoop, Baskin Robbins

Carat India Appoints Dipika Bhasin As Executive Vice President

Carat India has appointed Dipika Bhasin as Executive Vice President. In her new role, Dipika will lead the agency’s North & East offices and focus on developing & managing Carat's senior client relationship in addition to helping the agency drive the growth for its North and East markets. She will report into Anita Kotwani, CEO, Carat India.

Armed with more than 20 years of experience, Dipika has expertise in working with diverse teams, functions, industries, and has worked on challenging business leadership roles to drive business growth. In her previous stint with PHD Worldwide, Dipika held the position of Senior Vice President and was responsible for media management. She pivoted the digital media operations and their effectiveness for marketers in the media mix. She has worked on top brands like LG, Vivo, Royal Enfield, HP, SC Johnson, Perfetti, Maruti, Snapdeal, SAP, Adidas, Nissan and also various non-profit organisations. Additionally, she has also worked with Aircel and on brands that include consumer durables, FMCG, e-commerce and auto.

“As we strengthen and reshape the Carat offering for the Indian market, we needed a leader who is well networked, connected and understands the nuances of the Northern markets. Dipika, with her expansive & stellar work done across brands and categories, was our ideal choice as she brings in an integrated experience of the new-age eco-system. Her strong connections with the brands and marketers will ensure that the growth path crafted for Carat gets delivered in this market,” said Anita Kotwani, CEO, Carat India.

Commenting on her new role, Dipika Bhasin added, “I am excited to be part of Carat India and to be working with an inclusive and diverse team. I would want to focus on expanding our footprint by strengthening seamless planning, digital transformation and innovation in the media space to help our clients grow. The commitment of the Carat team to deliver value for clients and partners are reckoned by the industry. It is a homecoming for me and I really look forward to strengthening the portfolio of our team offerings in collaboration with dentsu international. Looking forward to partner at all levels and deliver growth and value consistently.”

Indigo Consulting Names Sam Antony as Vice President – Delivery & Operational Excellence

Indigo Consulting, a Publicis Groupe Company, has strengthened its delivery and operations team by appointing Sam Antony in the role of Vice President. He will be in charge of complete digital delivery and operational excellence of deep-tech transformation projects, across the company.

Sam is an experienced professional in Banking & Manufacturing vertical and has handled projects for global clients across organizations for - TCS, PATNI, IGATE and Capgemini in the past. He has also worked in a different capacity for clients like Honeywell, Synchrony Financial, GE Capital, GE Aviation, GE Transportation, GE Power and GE Information Systems.

He is skilled in cross-functional experience with handling large scale engagements across technology platforms. Sam has worked on programs right from the inception to the operational stage in multiple functions and various contract models like - FP, FMB, T&M, Managed Services & SLA.

Speaking on his appointment, Jose Leon, COO. Indigo Consulting commented, “As a team, we are deeply committed to continuing to strive in all our endeavours to deliver excellence to our existing and new customers. We are strengthening our delivery and operations teams under the leadership of Sam Antony. His rich and global work experience and solution-oriented approach will add great value to our customers and organization.”

On joining Indigo Consulting as Vice President, Sam Antony mentioned, “I am excited to be a part of Indigo Consulting and looking forward to play a critical role in Delivery Excellence. I look at this opportunity as the one that drives excellence through People, Processes and Technologies. Standardization and Industrialization are going to be the keywords for us to be consistent in our deliveries which would ultimately drive higher customer satisfaction and achieve profitable growth.”

Gozoop Strengthens Leadership With Gillian Marie Hooper As Group Director

Gozoop has appointed Gillan Marie Hooper as its Group Director – Brand Communications. She currently reports to Premkumar Iyer, Vice President- National Operations, and handles leading Brands like Taj Hotels, Intermiles, Viacom18, Gulf Oil, Ace Blend Zee Zindagi, and British Council amongst others.

Gillian comes to Gozoop with more than 11 years’ experience across digital marketing, where she has helped build brands’ marketing strategies along with reputation and crisis management. In her previous stint, Gillian worked with Genesis Burson Cohn-Wolfe, where she led key client relations for brands like Britannia, Tata Sky, IndiGo, and 3M India. During her formative years, she has worked with media channels like Network 18, Solutions| Digitas and Interactive Avenues where she has picked up valuable skills in communication and marketing.

Commenting on her appointment, Gillian said, “I joined Gozoop with a strong intention to learn, grow and build a strong performance yet open environment with internal and external stakeholders. It gives me immense pride to know that Gozoop and I share the same values and vision of building strong brands and stronger relationships with our clients. With the dynamic industry we work in, it is important to be seen as a brand partner instead of just another agency, because when we start working as one unit that is where the true magic happens. I look forward to creating work which people will remember and with Gozoop providing that environment, I’m sure we’ll do whatever it takes to get there.”

Ahmed Aftab Naqvi, CEO & Co-Founder of Gozoop, added, "GOZOOP is experiencing explosive exponential growth, and we’re delighted to have someone as experienced, skilled, and culturally aligned as Gillian on board to help us GO... ZOOP further, faster.”

Samyukta Ganesh Iyer Steps Down As Head Of Marketing At Baskin Robbins

Samyukta Ganesh Iyer, Head of Marketing, Baskin Robbins, has stepped down. Highly placed sources have confirmed this development to us.

Iyer joined Basking Robbins in 2019. Prior to that, she has served stints at Abbott India as Senior Marketing Manager and at Unilever as Innovations and Insights Lead, where she handled brands like Lakme and Vaseline.

Iyer holds an MBA in Marketing from SIES College of Management Studies Mumbai. Her next move is yet not known.