Hires & Promotions: Unacademy, FCB Cogito, IWMBuzz, Amazon Prime Video India, Dentsu,

Karan Shroff Promoted From CMO To Partner Of Unacademy

Unacademy has promoted its Chief Marketing Officer, Karan Shroff, to the position of Partner at Unacademy.

On Shroff's elevation, Gaurav Munjal, Co-Founder and CEO of Unacademy Group, said, "a Partner is a leader who emulates all the characteristics of a Co-Founder, and in that essence, a Partner is a Co-Founder of today. Shroff is the first Partner named by Unacademy in recognition of his exemplary contribution in helping build Unacademy into an iconic brand."

In his most recent role, Shroff has held the position of Chief Marketing Officer since September 2020. He is responsible for all marketing efforts including performance marketing, digital marketing, creative marketing, brand management, ATL campaigns, brand partnerships, media buying, consumer insights, and overall brand positioning. Karan joined Unacademy in 2019 as Vice President, Marketing.

Prior to Unacademy, Shroff led brand marketing at Xiaomi India. Karan has won numerous accolades and has regularly been featured as a Top Marketer, including being named CMO of the Year by World Asia Retail Congress in 2021.

FCB Cogito Elevates Vidyadhar Wabgaonkar As Its CEO 

FCB Group India has elevated Vidyadhar Wabgaonkar as the new CEO of FCB Cogito, the independent consulting arm of the Group in India. The Group recently also announced the restructuring of operations in a  three-agency structure of FCB Ulka, FCB Interface and FCB India. Vidyadhar Wabgaonkar's promotion is another step in enhancing the Group's 360-degree capabilities.

As an independent Brand and Marketing Consulting arm, FCB Cogito has advised large Indian and International companies in various aspects of branding and marketing, from diversification decisions, entry strategy, brand rejuvenation to getting ready for future and upcoming competition. It has built salient knowledge assets for the Group, such as Auto  Mood, Woman Mood, Brand Relationship Style Monitor, A decade of the rise of Patanjali and several more.  

Vidyadhar Wabgaonkar a.k.a. Wabs has been leading FCB Cogito for over four years now. He's an engineering gold medalist and a rank holding MBA from IIM Kolkata, he comes with a rich marketing background that includes stints in P&G India and MARICO Industries. Under Wabs’s aegis, FCB Cogito Consulting has come to be known for its strong proprietary products like ‘Chess’ for getting clients ready for competition and future and ‘Brand Hormone’ for rejuvenating brands. 

The Group is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, and this elevation comes in at a very crucial time when the agency is looking forward to the next 60 years in India.  Speaking on Wabs’ elevation, Nitin Karkare, Vice Chairman, FCB Ulka, said, “Wabs always brings a  fresh perspective, and in today’s times, his unique skills are going to be invaluable to brands  as they navigate uncharted terrains.” 

Speaking on his new role, Wabs said, “FCB Cogito believes that most clients have the resources required to be successful. It is the paradigm that connects the resources that often need evolution. ‘Why buy me’ is the most important question that each brand needs to answer, and the answer frequently lies well beyond the tangible aspects of the brand. A good  answer and a consensus around it, together multiply the force of selling and marketing  manifold.” 

IWMBuzz Co-founder Ashish Banka Quits After 5 Years

Head of Business and Co-founder at IWMBuzz, Ashish Banka, has stepped down from his position after being in the company for almost five years. Ashish was one of the four co-founders of IWMBuzz.

Commenting on the development, Ashish said, “IWMBuzz will always remain very close to my heart. I started it with a lot of passion and nurtured it like my own child. It’s a proud feeling to see it become one of India’s fastest-growing internet broadcasting companies in the entertainment genre. We have been a profitable and a cash-generating venture from the word go. However, I felt the time has come to pursue other dreams. I have something planned; will soon make an announcement.”

Ashish was a part of the management team at IWMBuzz that launched IPs like India’s biggest OTT Awards, Celebrity Style Awards, Celebrity Bash, India Web Fest, India Kids Summit, and TV Summit & Awards. In a short span of five years, IWMBuzz has become amongst India’s top 5 entertainment portals.

Vijay Subramaniam Steps Down As The Director & Head Of Content, Amazon Prime Video India 

Amazon Prime Video India's Director and Head of Content, Vijay Subramaniam, has stepped down. Gaurav Gandhi, Director and Country Manager, will take over as President of Prime Video in India, overseeing all teams.

On his exit, the Company said, "We are grateful to him for his valuable contributions over the last 4 years. Vijay has played a key role in Prime Video’s growth in India in this period. In his content leadership role, Vijay helped forge several key creator partnerships as well as laid great focus on expanding our content selection across languages. We wish Vijay the very best for his upcoming endeavours."

Before Amazon, Subramaniam was the Executive Director - Media Networks at The Walt Disney Company.  He was also the Sales Director at MTV Networks from 2003 to 2007. He also has names like ENIL, Star India and Stardust in his portfolio.

Dentsu Appoints Rohit Suri As New CHRO (SA)

Dentsu International has appointed Rohit Suri as the Chief HR Officer (CHRO), South Asia. 

Based in Mumbai, Rohit will build teams in India and Sri Lanka, establishing new skills and talent initiatives while shaping a people-oriented, value-led culture. His core focus will be to drive the India 2.0 transformation journey. Rohit will accentuate the Leadership agenda and talent pipeline, pivotal in futureproofing the long-term competitiveness of the business. He will report to Ashish Bhasin, CEO Dentsu Asia Pacific (APAC) and Chairman Dentsu India and Kinch Ong, Regional HR Director, Dentsu APAC.

Rohit has 23 years of experience in fast-paced Consumer Internet, Technology and Media companies. He has worked across South Asia, APAC, and Europe. Over the last 16 years, Rohit has held leadership roles spearheading Change, Business Transformation, Leadership Development Programmes, HR Project Management, and Cultural Integration. Most recently, Rohit was Chief Talent Officer (CTO) at GroupM South Asia.

Sunil Seth, HR Operations Transformation Head, South Asia, will continue to support the business with a tighter focus on HR Operations transformation and the Sri Lanka market, reporting to Rohit.

Ashish Bhasin, CEO Dentsu APAC and Chairman Dentsu India, said, “Rohit is a proven, dedicated talent acquisition expert, within the industry and beyond, in driving a high-performance culture. With Rohit on board, he will be a leading force in our journey in building a new team for South Asia. He will ensure we have a compelling talent acquisition strategy for future talent.”

Kinch Ong, Regional HR Director, Dentsu Asia Pacific, said, “Rohit is a pivotal hire for our team, a well-known name in the industry with a solid track record that we are confident will extend to our Dentsu HR function through the impact from his integral role in India’s transformation 2.0. We look forward to having him join us, working together to advance our efforts to cement Dentsu Asia Pacific as an employer of choice for people across the region.” 

Santosh Padhi Quits Taproot Dentsu

If rumours are to be believed, the co-founder and chief creative officer Taproot Dentsu, Santosh Padhi, has stepped down from his role. This comes following the recent resignation of Agnello Dias, the other co-founder and chief creative officer, who continued his association with the agency as a consultant for key brands only

Padhi's next move is yet to be known. 

Currently, the creative service line at Dentsu is led by Amit Wadhwa, who is also the chief executive officer, Dentsu Creative India.

Dentsu has been witnessing a slew of exits with key leaders like Shamsuddin Jasani, Vivek Bhargava, Rubeena Singh, and Anand Bhadkamkar making news recently.