Hires & Promotions: Nivea, Xiaomi India, WPP

Nivea India welcomes Siddhartha Juneja as the new ecommerce director

Nivea India has named Siddhartha Juneja as its new ecommerce director, effective January 2, 2025. With over 15 years of experience in FMCG and retail, Juneja is a seasoned expert in ecommerce and omnichannel growth strategies.

His career spans leadership roles at Mondelez, Flipkart, and Kellogg's, where he successfully drove ecommerce growth, sales, and marketing. Most recently, as head of omni channel at Mondelez, Juneja successfully drove the scaling of ecommerce & modern trade capabilities, focusing on data analytics, content, assortment, activation, and media. His efforts resulted in commercial success, delivering sustainable growth for the channel. At Flipkart, he played a key role in evolving the Grocery BU strategy across pricing, assortment, merchandising, and performance marketing, leading to Flipkart’s success in the grocery segment. 

In his new role, Juneja will lead Nivea’s ecommerce strategies to advance digital capabilities and accelerate growth in the online skincare market. He will focus on leveraging emerging digital opportunities to expand Nivea’s presence and build stronger consumer relationships.

Commenting on the appointment, Geetika Mehta, managing director of Nivea India, says, "We warmly welcome Siddhartha Juneja to the Nivea family. His deep understanding of e-commerce and omni-channel strategies will help us accelerate Nivea's digital transformation and strengthen our connection with consumers in the ever-evolving online space. With his leadership, we are confident that Nivea India will continue to thrive and innovate in the e-commerce landscape.”

Juneja shares, “I’m excited to join Nivea India at such an exciting time for the brand. With its strong legacy and focus on digital innovation, my goal is to enhance Nivea’s digital capabilities, expand our e-commerce footprint, and deliver superior online experiences to consumers while deepening customer partnerships. I look forward to collaborating with the team to strengthen Nivea’s presence in the e-commerce skincare market.”

Xiaomi India appoints Sandeep Singh Arora as CMO

Xiaomi India has appointed Sandeep Singh Arora as its chief business officer. With this significant move, Xiaomi India takes another pivotal step in strengthening its leadership team in India. In this strategic leadership role, Arora will lead the business development initiatives, driving revenue growth, cultivating new strategic partnerships, and expanding market presence.

Arora's expertise in leadership roles in product marketing, category management, retail operations, and brand strategy is expected to significantly enhance the organisation's ability to navigate the evolving market landscape. As the year unfolds, Xiaomi India is poised for a transformative period, equipped with more rigorous, forward-thinking plans aimed at accelerating growth and fostering innovation.

“Xiaomi India is at the forefront of transforming the tech landscape in India, and its commitment to making innovative technology accessible to all is truly inspiring. The culture, the core values and the dynamism of the brand is unmatched and resonate with my values. Our focus will be on delivering exceptional products to aspirational Indians. I am looking forward to this new innings and contributing to the success of Xiaomi’s business in India," says Arora.

Arora brings over three decades of experience in managing and growing consumer brands. Most recently, he was with Samsung India's Consumer Electronics division as head of the online business unit and then the head of marketing communications. He has also held senior leadership roles as VP of marketing at Bennett, Coleman, category director & EVP of marketing at PepsiCo India, and Unilever. His diverse experience has honed his ability to drive strategic growth and innovation in competitive markets. 

Arora holds a PGDM in Business Management and Marketing from IIM Ahmedabad, bringing extensive expertise in driving business strategies and brand development.

WPP appoints Wavemaker's Deepa Jatkar as India head for unit set up for Amazon

Global ad holding company WPP has appointed Wavemaker's Deepa Jatkar as India head for OpenDoor, the unit set up to handle the Amazon account. Billed as the “Global Media Pitch of the Decade,” Amazon's media planning and buying account went up for review in late 2023. In September 2024, WPP and Omnicom Media Group (OMG) were named joint winners, bagging the media business after edging out the incumbent, IPG's Initiative

WPP is handling Amazon's media business in APAC and EMEA, while Omnicom gets the Americas. WPP owns media services major GroupM, which houses Mindshare, Wavemaker, and EssenceMediacom, among other firms. OpenDoor is WPP's dedicated global client practice for Amazon, providing custom-built teams around the client's specific needs and challenges and easy access to the right capabilities.

WPP describes OpenDoor as "a unique integration of the best of WPP and Amazon—building on their respective strengths and visions. Whether at WPP or at Amazon, every project is an OpenDoor on new possibilities. Anything and everything can be an opportunity for our people to drive impact—for them to innovate, learn, thrive, and occasionally fail too."

The OpenDoor partnership model is built to deliver "next level" productivity, fuelled by WPP's approach to People, Platforms, and Process. The unit spans across all WPP agencies and disciplines such as media, business consultancy, communications and brand strategy, tech and commerce, public relations, and production.

WPP is bolstering its capabilities in India, an important market for Amazon, with the appointment of OpenDoor leadership and other hirings including planning, trading, and investment directors.

In 2023, Jatkar joined Wavemaker India as its Chief Growth Officer with experience of more than 20 years in media and consumer technology. She joined Wavemaker from Meta India, where she was a part of the global sales and marketing team and a key member of the India sales leadership team. In her role at Wavemaker, Jatkar reported to Ajay Gupte, CEO, South Asia, and was based out of the agency’s Mumbai office.