Hires & Promotions: HMD, Ogilvy, Cars24, Curativity

Tathagat Jena elevated as head of marketing, DTC & online Biz head, India & APAC at HMD

Human Mobile Devices (HMD), makers of Nokia phones, has elevated Tathagat Jena as head of marketing, DTC & online Biz head, India & APAC. Before this, Jena held the role of the head of marketing at HMD Global and has been associated with HMD for close to 2 years now.

"I am happy to share that I’m starting a new position as D2C & Online Biz head & Head of Marketing- India & APAC at HMD. Sincerely thanking Ravi Kunwar -VP India and APAC, CHRO Emma McDonnell, COO Alain Lejeune, Our chairman Jean-Francois Baril. Here is to infinite possibilities with the new multi-brand strategy of HMD," his LinkedIn post read.

In his previous stints, Jena has worked with Ogilvy & Mather, Lowe Lintas, Transsion infinix, Samsung Electronics and Leo Burnett among others.

B. Ramanathan to return to Ogilvy India as chief client officer

B. Ramanathan is returning to Ogilvy India as chief client officer, sources reveal. With nearly three decades of experience in the industry, Ramanathan brings a wealth of knowledge and a profound understanding of the advertising business.

As per his social profile on LinkedIn, Ramanathan started his journey with Ogilvy in 2000. From playing pivotal roles in the Chennai and Hyderabad offices for eight years to leading the Mumbai office as the managing partner from 2009. Ram has been a part of the agency's growth narrative to date.

In 2022, Ramanathan was promoted as chief marketing officer for Ogilvy Asia where he was the global brand leader for Mondelez. Before the promotion, he was the group CEO at Ogilvy Indonesia from 2019. He was theCEO for Ogilvy Indonesia and Bates CHI & Partners Indonesia for almost three years before that.

In his role, Ram will take charge of strategic client relationships, and leading brand partnerships. He will also be driving business expansion.

Ramanathan started his career in the ad industry back in 1995 at BBDO Chennai as an account supervisor till 1998. After that, he moved to Rediffusion DY&R in 2000.

Cars24 elevates Arpit Srivastava as head of brand

Cars24 has promoted Arpit Srivastava as the head of brand. Before this, he was the senior general manager.

Srivastava started his career with HCL Technologies and went on to work across Sony India, Bennett Coleman and Co and Samsung India.

As the product marketing manager at Sony India, Srivastava led the smartphone business in India.

His responsibilities included product marketing, national product launch strategy, product portfolio planning /product life cycle management, product development, product positioning and pricing, industry & competition analysis, channel management, brand management (ATL, BTL, Digital), trade marketing and visual merchandising, consumer research and customer retention (CRM Programs).

Curativity appoints Aarti Srinivasan and Neha M Dhanani to leadership team

Marketing services agency Curativity Brand Partners has appointed Aarti Srinivasan as head of creative and Neha M Dhanani as head of business. The duo brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the leadership team and will be driving integrated brand solutions for brands. Srinivasan is a highly awarded creative leader with an impressive career spanning 17 years at BBH, Lowe Lintas, Ogilvy, and BBDO, where she has worked on campaigns for brands such as Surf Excel, Cadbury Dairy Milk, Ariel, Upstox, Mahindra Racing, Caratlane, Uber to name a few.

Expressing her excitement about the new role, Aarti states, "This is the most interesting journey in my career. Curativity gives me the unique opportunity to learn and create closely with an absolutely diverse and unlimited pool of independent talent within the community. In today's fragmented media landscape and hypercompetitive marketplace, it’s essential for brands to stand out. And I’m confident that with the right mix of curated creativity, we’ll exceed the expectations of our ambitious clients and create a distinctive and ownable voice for our brands."

Dhanani, on the other hand, brings a diverse skill set garnered from her experiences across various domains. With a 15-year career, she has made significant contributions to creative agencies, media planning, and branded content creation.

Her professional journey has included roles at renowned organisations such as Lowe Lintas, Ogilvy, Contract, Ph.D. Media, and Conde’Nast Publications with clients such as Unilever, Audi, Samsung, L’Oreal, Dubai Tourism, Pernod Ricard, Reliance Retail to name a few. In her new role, she mentions, "This marks the beginning of an exhilarating chapter for me. I am thrilled to be part of a company that values innovation and collaboration and a strategic approach. Curativity's unique model, which brings together curated independent talent, aligns with my belief in designing integrated solutions for brands by bringing together the best minds around a problem. Eager to work closely with our partners and contribute to their success by designing tailor-made solutions that meet their unique needs."

Virat Tandon, co-Founder and CEO, Curativity also comments, "Aarti's creative brilliance and Neha's dynamic experience make them invaluable additions to our leadership team. In them, we have found leaders who are both capable and hungry to build a future-facing marketing services agency. With so many brands vying for the consumer’s attention across multiple media, the traditional methods of brand building are not working. What brands need is an “Ownable Distinctiveness” that can be delivered through various touch points. We are confident that with our model of access to the best of the independent talent, Aarti and Neha will foster a new culture of collaboration in the service of delivering to the promise of distinctive brand work that’s ownable."