MxMIndia

Tag: Alex Leikikh

  • In a strategic re-alignment from the previous model, all functions of the group will now report to Subbu

    It’s official now: Exit Amer Jaleel and Virat Tandon, Enter Subbu as new Group CEO

    By Our Staff

     

    S Subramanyeswar
    S Subramanyeswar

    MullenLowe Group has announced the appointment of S Subramanyeswar, aka Subbu, as the Group Chief Executive Officer of MullenLowe Lintas Group India, effective immediately. MxMIndia was the first to report on Amer Jaleel and Virat Tandon moving on.

     

    In a strategic realignment from the previous model, all functions of the group will now report to Subbu. In addition, Subbu will continue to directly lead the Strategy function for the Group in India and maintain his role as Chief Strategy Officer for the MullenLowe APAC region.

     

    Alex Leikikh
    Alex Leikikh

    Speaking about the new era, Alex Leikikh, Chairman of MullenLowe Group and Executive Vice President of Interpublic Group, said: “During these transformative times where we are all facing many challenges, I believe, there is no better person to lead MullenLowe Lintas Group than Subbu. He is a proven leader with hard-core strategic skills, business imagination and the ability to bring people together. Subbu has a global perspective on how brands, communication and technology will intersect in the future. He’s also a big believer in brand purpose. This combination is exactly what we need as the company enters the next chapter.

     

    As we move into this new era, I want to thank Amer Jaleel and Virat Tandon for their dedication, passion and leadership throughout the years for us and all of our clients. I wish them the best on their next endeavours.”

     

    Since joining the company in 2011, Subbu has played a leading role in MullenLowe Lintas Group becoming the No.1 agency in India and APAC, and No.2 globally on the Effie Index ranking. MullenLowe Lintas Group was also awarded ‘Agency of the year’ several times at India and APAC Effies, and by Tambuli, Campaign South Asia, Ad Age, and WARC with Subbu helming the leadership from the strategy end.

     

    Excited about his new responsibility Subbu said, “Lintas is one of those extraordinary institutions to have truly impacted Indian society for decades through big, bold, culture-leading ideas based on a decisive stand taken by the brand. I couldn’t be more honoured to have been given the charge to lead the company at a very important time. The opportunity that lies ahead in an ever-expanding world of possibilities is limitless, but to seize it, we must focus precisely, move at a rapid pace, and be transformational. A big part of my job is to widen our creative and strategic aperture to innovatively apply technology and talent to solve new problems for clients, for people, and the world at large. I’m excited, grounded on the challenges, and upbeat, all at once.”

     

  • The Mullen Lowe Lintas Group Chairman will take to film-making full-time

    Balki bids bye to advertising

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    In a move that is sure to surprise many in the industry, R Balakrishnan, better known as Balki, has decided to say goodbye to advertising after a three decade-long career in the industry. The move was announced earlier today, through an internal communication, to the employees of MullenLowe Lintas Group, India.

     

    Said Alex Leikikh, Global CEO – MullenLowe Group:  “Balki has been the architect of the stellar agency we have in India today. He leaves behind an operation that’s successful and future-ready, a leadership team that’s perhaps the strongest of any agency in India, and a culture that he shaped along the way while himself leading by example. While we will miss his infectiously passionate presence, we wish him even greater success as a film-maker.”

     

    Majority of Balki’s advertising years have been spent at the MullenLowe Lintas Group, India where he currently holds the role of Group Chairman. He joined the agency (then known as Lintas) in 1994, in its Bengaluru office.

     

    Speaking of his decision, Balki said, “We’ve been planning this for some time now. It’s been a long process of succession planning that concludes with my move. The agency is at its strongest today and I leave feeling satisfied, proud and excited. We have a fine leader in Joe and two world-class creative champions in Amer and Arun. The agency has given me more than 22 years’-worth in opportunities, growth, values and most of all, some friends-for-life.”

     

    Joseph George, Group CEO, MullenLowe Lintas Group, who has worked closely with Balki through all of the 22 years says, “It is impossible and even foolish to try and replace someone like Balki; so we planned the transition differently. As early as July 2015, we put in place, a management structure that would help us move forward as an organisation, while also maximizing the potential and aspirations of great individuals we have. Balki and I have tried to think this through every step of the way, and it’s reached a place where we feel the agency is ready for today, and tomorrow.”

     

    Balki started his career in Mudra, before moving on to Lintas, a place that he went on to make his home for over two decades. While with the agency, he’s been the brain behind several globally acclaimed campaigns and brand ideas. Under his leadership, MullenLowe Lintas Group has consistently retained its spot as one of India’s top agencies and a training ground for some of the best advertising minds of the industry.

     

    Talking further on the decision: “There is no bigger happiness than to see a thought actually work the way you had fantasised. Lowe was a thought am proud of.”

     

    We’ll miss you, Balki.

     

  • During his tenure as Group CEO in India, Joe has led the agency to huge success within India, across the APAC region and on a global stage

    Mullen Lowe Lintas India’s Joseph George takes on additional South & Southeast Asia duties

    By A Correspondent

     

    Lowe veteran, Joseph (Joe) George, currently Group CEO of the Mullen Lowe Lintas Group in India, adds South & Southeast Asia responsibilities to his current remit. The appointment is effective immediately, and Joe will report to Alex Leikikh, Global CEO, Mullen Lowe Group.

     

    Joe has been with the Lowe network for 24 years – joining Lintas Mumbai in 1991 and spending the next 15 years between the Mumbai and Bangalore offices. Joe took over as the head of the Unilever business in 2006, and successfully led the growth of that business and a few specialist marketing services divisions until his appointment as Deputy CEO in June 2010, and subsequently as CEO in January 2011.

     

    During his tenure as Group CEO in India, Joe has led the agency to huge success within India, across the APAC region and on a global stage. On marketing effectiveness, Mullen Lowe Lintas Group has won over 50 major awards in the last year alone, including being ranked the Most Effective Agency in India and APAC according to the Effie Effectiveness Index 2015, named APAC Agency of the Year at AMES and Tambuli Awards, and winning India’s only Creative Effectiveness Grand Prix at Spikes Asia.

     

    Alex Leikikh, Global CEO, Mullen Lowe Group, commented on the appointment: “Joe is exactly the leader we need as part of our hugely dynamic Asia operation – he is a seasoned professional with a proven track record of growth. A key component of his role will focus on tapping into the resources of the robust India operation that he has built up in order to develop our hyperbundled offering across the Southeast Asia markets.”

     

    Joe added: “I’m absolutely thrilled by the challenge of taking on an additional leadership role within the APAC region for the Mullen Lowe Group. Having worked within the network for over two decades, I clearly love the spirit: distinctive, entrepreneurial, collaborative and creative.”