Hires & Promotions: Unilever, Madison Media, Tribes Communication, Ceat, Kotak Life

Unilever's global CMO for Dove, Alessandro Manfredi, leaves the FMCG major after 28 years

Alessandro Manfredi, the Chief Marketing Officer for Dove at Unilever has moved on from his position.

He states in a social media post, "A few months ago, I decided to leave Unilever and the past few days were my last as the leader of the Dove brand. I am leaving with a deep feeling of Pride and Gratitude."

He adds, "I had the privilege to lead a brand that has become the #1 provider of body confidence education in the world, with 114mn children educated… tripling its business to a 6Bn Euro iconic brand. We never stopped growing since those days in 2004 and have kept accelerating; hitting our best result in more than a decade in ‘23 and now carrying an even greater impetus in ’24. This allowed us to demonstrate that Social impact, when fully embedded into a business, not only does not trade off with Profit, but is a phenomenal driver of growth."

"I joined Unilever more than two decades ago attracted by three things. The humanity of its leadership, the humanity of its unique marketing philosophy, deeply rooted in building emotional bonds with people, and the humanity of its purpose. Throughout my career within Unilever, I was allowed to cultivate these incredible assets and inject them into the brands I was lucky to work on," he mentions.

Manfredi began his career at Unilever as global VP of Dove master brand and deodorant, and over a period held various roles in different capacities.
 

Madison Media promotes Vinay Hegde to CEO – Investments

Madison Media, a unit of Madison World, has promoted Vinay Hegde as the Chief Executive Officer – Investments.

Hegde has over 25 years of experience and has been associated with Madison Media for almost 8 years as a Chief Buying Officer.

He has previously worked at Mindshare Fulcrum for over 10 years, where he handled buying for the Unilever business. He has also worked with Disney as Director, Revenue Strategy, in addition to having worked at Starcom, HTA and Percept.

Vikram Sakhuja, Group CEO, Madison Media & OOH, says, “He (Hegde) has been a proven performer over the years, who has leveraged his deep understanding of the media domain and buying analytics to deliver scaled advantage in Buying. As CEO Investments, I do not doubt that under his leadership Madison will deliver best-in-class returns on clients’ media investments.”

Hegde shares, "It's a privilege to lead such a talented team and drive strategic investments that will propel our client’s business to greater success in the media landscape.”

Madison Media handles media planning and buying for blue chip clients like Godrej, Marico, Asian Paints, Titan, Blue Star, TVS, Raymond, CEAT, Pidilite, Bajaj Electricals, McDonald’s, Lodha, Shaadi.com, and many others. Madison Media is part of Madison World established in 1988. Madison World through its 11 Units served last year, as many as 500 advertisers.

Tribes Communication appoints Himanka Das as Chief Strategy Officer

Tribes Communication has appointed Himanka Das as Chief Strategy Officer to lead the organisation’s strategic vision and drive its ambitious expansion goals. In under a decade, the Group has transformed from an out-of-home (OOH) solutions service provider into a formidable comprehensive marketing powerhouse.

As an industry leader, Das brings with him more than two decades of experience in media and marketing communication, having worked across 250+ brands and managed large investment portfolios. He is a seasoned executive with a strong strategy orientation to drive business outcomes and has worn many hats before taking on the role of Chief Strategy Officer at Tribes. In the recent past, Das was serving as Country Director at Infomo, a global AI AdTech pioneer in the first-party data space. He has held leadership roles at Dentsu International for over nine years, which included three years as CEO of its group company, Vizeum India and as EVP Carat, India. He began his career at Madison World, building his career working at Initiative, Lintas Media Group, FCB Ulka of IPG and Starcom of Publicis Media.

Before joining Infomo, Das took an academic sabbatical to earn a postgraduate qualification in Data Science from the International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Bangalore to accelerate his analytical skills. He also has a Master's in International Marketing and Mass Communication Studies from the University of Pune.

Expressing his excitement about joining Tribes Communication, Das comments, “What impressed me is the pace and agility with which Tribes has made a cutting-edge mark in the marketing industry in less than a decade, leading transformations in disruptive technology such as AI, CRM data, analytics and continuously evolving consumer behaviour. It’s inspiring and an honour to be part of such an entrepreneurial team and culture, driving ambitious future plans. I am excited to work closely with the diverse business units, bringing strategic connections to engage and help consumers make decisions in their purchase journey.”

Welcoming Himanka, Gour Gupta, MD and Chairman, Tribes Communication adds, “I am extremely pleased to welcome Himanka to the Tribes family, especially at such a pivotal time. Himanka’s profound industry knowledge and strategic acumen will be invaluable as we continue to innovate and deliver exceptional value to our clients. In addition, our shared values of business excellence and forward-thinking are perfectly aligned and I look forward to this collaboration, which will be instrumental in driving our next phase of growth.”

As Chief Strategy Officer, Das will oversee the development and implementation of the company’s strategic initiatives, working closely with the executive team to identify new growth opportunities and enhance operational efficiencies.

Ceat appoints Vishal Pawar as Senior VP- Global Sales and Supply Chain

Ceat has elevated Vishal Pawar to the role of Senior VP- Global Sales and Supply Chain. This significant leadership change marks a new chapter in Ceat's growth trajectory.

Pawar, who was leading the replacement sales as Vice President, will succeed Saurav Mukherjee, who has resigned after a successful stint spanning over four years in the role. His contributions have been instrumental in shaping the company's global sales and supply chain strategies.

Pawar brings extensive experience to his new role. An engineering graduate from the College of Engineering Pune and a management graduate from SIBM, he began his career with TAFE Limited in Chennai as a Management Trainee. He first joined Ceat in 2005 as category head before moving into sales and serving a successful stint as the zonal sales head for the South.

In 2019, Pawar transitioned to Garware Technical Fibres before returning to Ceat, where he rose to become Vice President of India’s largest aftermarket sales division. His wealth of experience and proven track record make him the ideal candidate to lead Ceat's global sales and supply chain efforts.

Arnab Banerjee, MD and CEO of Ceat shares, "We are thrilled to have Vishal step into this critical role. His deep understanding of the industry, combined with his strategic vision and leadership capabilities, makes him the perfect fit to drive our global sales and supply chain initiatives. I am confident that under his leadership, CEAT will continue to strengthen its market position and achieve new heights. I would also like to express our sincere thanks to Saurav Mukherjee for his significant contributions to the company. We wish him all the best in his future endeavours."

Pawar points, “I am excited to take on this new role and shall work towards taking CEAT to the next level in terms of driving market share and making it a premium brand in the years to come. My primary focus will be on capability development and strengthening processes, which I believe makes the strong foundation of any sustainable business.”

Following the movement of Saurav Mukherjee from the company on July 31, 2024, Vishal Pawar has taken on his new role with effect from July 1, 2024.
 

Kotak Life elevates Arun Shukla as EVP, Direct Marketing

Arun Shukla has been promoted to Executive Vice President of Direct Marketing at Kotak Life, according to a social media post.

Shukla, who has been with Kotak Life for over 11 years has held several key positions, including Senior Vice President, Head Strategy and Zonal Head for West & South, Direct Marketing.

Before joining the company, Shukla served as Sr Manager and Dy National Account Manager for Bancassurance at IDBI Federal Life Insurance.

He began his career in 2003 at Godrej Tea Ltd. and has accumulated 21 years of experience, including roles at Genpact LLC and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance.