Hires & Promotions: Wunderman Thompson, Unacademy, OnePlus, Tribeca, OnMobile

Wunderman Thompson Appoints Shamsuddin Jasani As CEO-South Asia

Wunderman Thompson has appointed Shamsuddin Jasani as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), South Asia effective November 1st.

Shamsuddin (Shams) is a seasoned industry veteran who founded Isobar in India in 2008 and grew it from a two-person team to over 300 employees across South Asia. His team has been recognised as one of the top digital agencies by Brand Equity Agency Reckoner and has received several accolades, including three times Digital Agency of the Year India. Shams has also been named to Media Ace's Digital Agency CEO list for the past two years and to Impact Magazine's Digital Power 100 list for the past two years.

Shamsuddin commented, “It’s a great honour, but an even greater responsibility, to join such an iconic brand as Wunderman Thompson, with an amazing legacy. I am really excited to not only continue this legacy but to take it to greater heights with the combination of creative, Data, Commerce and Technology.”

“We are pleased to have Shams join our Wunderman Thompson leadership, and believe he is the natural successor to continue propelling our South Asia business forward,” said Ewen Sturgeon, CEO, International of Wunderman Thompson.

Shams will report directly to Ewen Sturgeon, CEO, International of Wunderman Thompson.

Wunderman Thompson Promotes Tarun Rai To Executive Director Strategic Initiatives, APAC

After completing 25 years in advertising in India, Wunderman Thompson has promoted Tarun Rai, Chairman and Group CEO South Asia to Executive Director Strategic Initiatives, APAC, effective January 1, 2022. Tarun’s vast experience will help accelerate growth across the many countries of the region.

In the seven years as Chairman and CEO, Tarun has successfully steered the company through significant changes at an organizational and cultural level – most recently leading the successful and seamless transition to Wunderman Thompson. Previously with JWT, he returned to the agency in 2015 after a long stint in media, and quickly put the company back on an aggressive growth path. He diversified the organization’s capabilities to better serve clients, many of whom have been partners for a long time and remain so. He built an excellent leadership team and has fostered a culture of collaboration across the various group companies. Throughout the pandemic, he has led the organization with sensitivity and empathy without compromising on the quality of the work.

Tarun Rai commented, “The last seven years have been very exciting and rewarding. The unprecedented changes in these years required nimble leadership. I also had the opportunity to lead the transition to our new company, Wunderman Thompson, which has a powerful mix of creativity and technology. I am extremely proud of our people and of our leadership team for their fantastic work through these years. I now look forward to stepping into my new role in expanded geography.”

“We would like to thank Tarun for his leadership and efforts as Group CEO of South Asia, and are pleased that Tarun will continue his strategic guidance and support for the agency as he moves on to serve as our APAC Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives” added Ewen Sturgeon, CEO, International, Wunderman Thompson.

Rai will report directly to Ewen Sturgeon, CEO, International of Wunderman Thompson. Details on Rai’s successor will be announced shortly.

Unacademy has appointed Deepinder Goyal, Founder & CEO, Zomato on the company’s Board of Directors. Deepinder is an investor in Unacademy and participated in the company’s Series H fundraise in August. 

Commenting on the development, Gaurav Munjal, Co-Founder & CEO, Unacademy Group said, "From our first meeting in 2016 to our latest one last week, Deepinder Goyal has always proven to be a great supporter and mentor for Unacademy and for me personally as well. I’m stoked to share that he will be joining the Unacademy Board. Welcome Deepinder Goyal, let’s crack it!" 

“Deepinder has been an advisor for several years and it was only a matter of time before that association transformed into a formal partnership. His experience with building and scaling a successful consumer technology company will help us tremendously as we build the country’s largest learning platform” said Munjal.

Reacting to his new role, Deepinder Goyal, Founder & CEO, Zomato, said, “I am thrilled to join the Unacademy board. I think it’s one of the best product companies being made in India, and I am looking forward to learning from Gaurav and the team." 

OnePlus Elevates Navnit Nakra To CEO- India & Head Of India Region 

Navnit Nakra, OnePlus India's Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer, and Head of Sales, has been elevated to OnePlus India CEO and Head of the OnePlus India area. Nakra will be in charge of the company's business operations and general strategy for the India area in this new senior leadership post.

Nakra joined OnePlus India as Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer in February 2020, where he was responsible for the company's corporate strategy initiatives as well as important strategic relationships that are critical to the India business. Over the last year, he has also overseen the company's sales activities in the area, taking on the additional job of Head of India Sales. 

Pete Lau, Founder of OnePlus and Chief Product Officer of OPPO, said, “Navnit has successfully led the strategy and sales operations at OnePlus India, and our team has gained immense growth under his leadership. India continues to be an important market for OnePlus, and we continue to focus on our India community’s needs as we work towards building a newer, more innovative ecosystem of products and services. Therefore, I am confident that Navnit will play a pivotal role in leading the future business operations effectively in the region.”

Addressing the new role, Navnit Nakra, OnePlus India CEO and Head of India region, shared, “I am excited for the opportunity to further drive the growth of OnePlus, as we continue to deliver the best of our flagship technology and build our affordable premium ecosystem portfolio to bring cutting-edge products to our community in India.”

Tribeca Appoints Harshwardhan Prasad As CEO

Trump Towers' developer, Tribeca, has appointed Harshwardhan Prasad as the new CEO to lead the company's commercial growth. Harsh has extensive knowledge of the Indian real estate sector. 

Prior to joining Tribeca, he held positions of leadership with some of India's top real estate companies. Harsh began his real estate career in Mumbai and Gurgaon with Godrej Properties, where he spent over 10 years in different leaderships, business development, and P&L responsibilities. He then moved on to DLF, where he was in charge of the famous Phase V construction along Golf Course Road. Most recently, he served as the COO of SmartWorld.

Welcoming the new CEO, Kalpesh Mehta, Founder, Tribeca Developers said, “I am delighted to have someone as experienced and talented as Harsh join the Tribeca team. He comes with an impressive background in Indian real estate, and more importantly, his leadership and management style is the perfect match for the values and culture of Tribeca. I look forward to partnering with Harsh and the rest of the Tribeca team on what promises to be a thrilling ride ahead.

Commenting on the appointment Harshwardhan Prasad, CEO, Tribeca Developers said, “I am absolutely thrilled to be associated with Tribeca. I look forward to working closely with Kalpesh, the senior leadership, and the hugely talented colleagues at Tribeca to foster growth and deliver the best products in the market.’’

Harshwardhan is optimistic about the real estate market, citing increased liquidity among buyers and lenders. He feels that the post-covid boom in the residential area has been huge since people have been spending more time indoors and appreciating their own space, resulting in a significant increase in customers' desire to possess well-designed places. The business is being regulated, which has resulted in the weeding out of the weaker firms, resulting in a higher confidence quotient among purchasers. Clearly, the relocation to Tribeca is both timely and promising.

OnMobile Appoints Sanjay Baweja As MD & Global CEO 

OnMobile Global has appointed Sanjay Baweja as its Managing Director & Global CEO. To ensure greater focus on the strategic growth of the gaming business, Krish Seshadri has been named Chief Executive Officer of ONMO, with a specific focus on D2C mobile gaming and social esports, to guarantee a stronger focus on the strategic expansion of the gaming industry. 

Biswajit Nandi, SVP, OnMobile Global, will supervise all Global Sales under the B2B business segment, among other significant changes. As VP and Head of the Digital Business Unit, Ignacio Martin Velasco will devote himself to the success of the Emocion company. 

Sanjay has extensive experience in Mergers and Acquisitions in a variety of industries and regions. His most recent position was as Group President of the Bhartiya Group, where he was in charge of all of the group's strategic objectives, as well as seeking new commercial partnerships and transforming the company. He has held leadership roles (Finance) in Xerox; Emaar MGF Land and Bharti Airtel. Sanjay had been associated with OnMobile Global as an Independent Director on the Board from September’ 2015 till May 2020 and as Chief Financial Officer from June 2020.