MxMIndia

Tag: Weber Shandwick

  • And they are: Valerie Pinto, Ahmed Aftab Naqvi and Ashwini Deshpande

    More jury chairs for Abby 2023 announced

    By Our Staff

     

    More jury chairs for Abby One Show 2023 have been announced. Valerie Pinto, CEO, Weber Shandwick, Ahmed Aftab Naqvi, Global CEO & Co-founder, Gozoop and Ashwini Deshpande, Co-Founder and Director of Elephant Design, join as Jury Chair for Public Relations category, Jury Chair of Mobile Category, and Jury Chair of Design category respectively.

     

    Said Ashwini Deshande: “It is an absolute privilege to be judging the Design category at Abby One Show Awards. India is a unique playground for brands and consumers. I define Design as a creative way of solving a challenge.  I am hoping to see great work based on real life insights that solve a challenge in a delightful way.”

     

  • To oversee all aspects of communication and messaging for IDP India

    IDP Education appoints Weber Shandwick for comms

    By Our Staff

     

    IDP Education has appointed Weber Shandwick as its strategic PR agency for India. The agency will oversee all aspects of communication and messaging for IDP India, including corporate reputation, brand awareness, and key stakeholder management.

     

    Said Piyush Kumar, Regional Director (South Asia and Mauritius), IDP Education: “For IDP Education, we are committed to shaping the future of international education by empowering as many students as we can with the best resources and information to achieve their global goals. Weber Shandwick’s deep expertise in brand communication perfectly aligns with our brand ambition. We are delighted to collaborate with them at this crucial time to strengthen our messaging and communication and are looking forward to it.”

     

    Added Sushmita Bandopadhyay, Executive Vice President, Weber Shandwick: “Overseas education continues to be a precious choice for both students and parents. We are pleased to partner with IDP India in strengthening their position as the preferred choice for students exploring higher education to advance their careers outside the country. We believe Weber Shandwick is well poised to deliver integrated and impactful communications using a channel-agnostic approach.”

     

  • He will work towards contributing to building the media quotient of Byju's

    Mrinall Kanti Dey joins Byju’s as VP –  Comms

    By Our Staff

     

    Mrinal Kanti Dey)
    Mrinal Kanti Dey)

    Senior journalist-turned-communications professional Mrinall Kanti Dey has joined edtech major Byju’s as VP –  Communications.  He will work towards contributing to building the media quotient of Byju’s.  He will work closely with Paroma Roy Chowdhury, Senior VP & Head of Corporate Communications in implementing the company’s media strategy. Dey has been in the industry for 25 years and has managed communications for global brands across diverse industries which includes telecom, FMCG and financial services.

     

    Dey’s last role was with Weber Shandwick as SVP – Media Strategy. Before that, he was American Express as AVP – Public Affairs and Communications, India and Area Countries. Prior to American Express, he was with PepsiCo India and Bharti Airtel and was responsible for external communications and crisis management and has spent about seven years in journalism starting his career with Press Trust of India and The Asian Age among others.

     

  • Gender discrimination, workplace bias, limited growth and development opportunities, tokenism, policy gaps remain roadblocks for growth of women in the communications industry, notes  a study conducted by the Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode and WICCI

    Women aspire to lead but are hesitant: IIM-K study

    By Our Staff

     

    The Women’s Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry’s Public Relations and Digital Marketing Council and the Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode (IIMK), have announced the findings of the first edition of the ‘I Lead’ survey – a collaborative study launched to capture the experiences and challenges for women to reach leadership positions in the field of communications. The study also reports the progress made so far by organisations and offers a framework that organisations can adopt to move towards a gender-inclusive workplace.

     

    The ‘I Lead’ survey conducted in early 2021 received a response from 1000+ women communication professionals (across genres of Journalism, Advertising, Public Relations, Digital Communications, Content Writing, Corporate Affairs and Corporate Communications).

     

    As per a recent World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Gender Gap report of 2021, this year India slipped 28 places, and was ranked 140 among 156 countries, indicating the need for enabling policies to support women in the workforce.  In the communications industry, despite women already forming a very large part of the workforce, almost 34%, compared to a national average of 14%, the ratio drops to just 11% at senior management positions, and a mere 3% in boardrooms.

     

    The findings of the recently launched ‘I Lead’ survey corroborate this reality. Less than half (42%) women believe that equal pay for equal work is not practiced.  Two third (68%) respondents stated that their organisation does not have a formal mentoring program for aspiring women leaders. More than half (53%) respondents said that organisations don’t have a clear career growth path for women joining post maternity leave or critical care breaks. 79% women stated that their organisation considers home investments as gaps during promotions or assignment of critical assignments. More than half (53%) respondents said that their organisations do not recruit and engage in formal succession planning to ensure gender diversity. The study indicated a mere tokenism approach exists currently, with Diversity and Inclusion policies being more of a ‘tick-in-the-box’ with little ability to eliminate gender discrimination, increasing instances of workplace bias and deep routed sexism, limited mentoring and training support, and lopsided HR policies. These startling numbers re-emphasize the need for the communications industry to walk the talk of creating an inclusive and equitable work environment for women.

     

    Said Kavita Lakhani, Director Operations, Weber Shandwick and National President, WICCI Public Relations and Digital Marketing Council: “While 66% respondents of the survey agreed to the existence of gender diversity at their workplace, 61% respondents stated that equal number of men and women are not in leadership roles. The ‘I Lead’ survey underscores the need for a gender inclusive culture that enables high-performing women to grow into leadership roles – and above all have complete control and freedom to drive their career journeys in the direction they desire. To empower more women to reach the top, organisations must expedite action in three key areas: modeling leadership and building confidence through role models/networking, progressive policies, and support systems to nurture ‘women of future’ and providing corporate development programs that propel qualified women who aspire to lead.  It is my fervent belief that this study will inform and encourage leaders to take clear and decisive steps to develop the leadership potential of their female employees – and that we will all be stronger for it.”

     

     

  • Dey will focus on shaping the firm’s employee experience and strengthening existing client relationships

    Nikhil Dey joins Weber Shandwick as Vice Chair. Valerie Pinto to stay as India CEO

    By A Correspondent [updated on March 22]

     

    Nikhil Dey

    Weber Shandwick has announced the appointment of Nikhil Dey as Vice Chair of the firm’s India operations. Dey will focus on shaping the firm’s employee experience, strengthening existing client relationships and creating opportunities for global clients in India.

    Dey, who joined the organisation late last month, will be part of the firm’s India leadership board, working with senior leadership across the Asia Pacific region – including Valerie Pinto, CEO of Weber Shandwick India – to build synergies and service outcomes.

    We asked a spokesperson at Weber Shandwick on what the reporting of Dey and Pinto will be – whether they will be at the same level or will Dey report to Pinto or vice versa. The response we received was in line with what sources in the industry told us — that both will report to the APAC leadership and for the now there will be a joint leadership of India operations. Weber Shandwick did revert to MxM – albeit two days after publication of this report. The response: “Valerie is CEO Weber Shandwick India. Nikhil is Vice Chair, India. Operating within a matrix structure, both Valerie and Nikhil are part of the firm’s India leadership board and report into Baxter Jolly, CEO, Asia Pacific. They will work with senior leadership across the Asia Pacific region to build synergies and service outcomes for Weber Shandwick teams in New Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru.”

    “With Nikhil’s depth of knowledge and experience, we aim to significantly grow our talent base, revenue streams and continue to lead with a client-first approach to deliver stronger and higher value to our clients,” said Baxter Jolly, CEO of Weber Shandwick Asia Pacific. “We are also tremendously proud of our achievements in India under Valerie’s leadership and are extremely bullish on our potential in the India market. We believe this combination of strengths will be unbeatable in the market and will enable us to grow significantly in India.”

    Commented Pinto: “Building Weber Shandwick as a strong employer brand with a work environment that attracts the best talent to our profession is an integral part of our growth strategy in India. Our people are an essential part of the firm, and creativity is the foundation of everything we do. Nikhil, with his unmatched knowledge and expertise will help us further build our culture of creativity and collaboration. Along with this, he will help the agency to continue to provide our clients with unique solutions and a forward-thinking approach to their communications challenges.”

     

    MxMView: It’s good to see two seasoned professionals at the helm at Weber Shandwick India. However, joint leadership amongst professionals doesn’t work too well in the short or long run. While one can dream up a countless designations, there’s got to be a clear Big Boss. And clear accountability.

     

     

  • Jogina joins the firm with over 19 years of experience from varied industries

    Weber Shandwick appoints Cyrus Jogina to head ops

    By A Correspondent

     

    Cyrus Jogina

    Weber Shandwick has announced the appointment of Cyrus Jogina as the Head of Operations at Weber Shandwick India.

     

    Jogina joins the firm with over 19 years of experience from varied industries including Travel & Tourism, Technology, and Corporate & Marketing Communications. Based in Gurgaon, a large part of his role will focus on building ideation platforms, client engagement as well as strengthening processes, systems and internal structure.

     

    “It’s an exciting time for us in India and we couldn’t welcome Cyrus into the Weber Shandwick family at a better time,” said Valerie Pinto, CEO, Weber Shandwick India. “We continue to be committed to evolving our agency offering to solve a multitude of client challenges and are well on track to becoming one of the most creative and engaging firms in the country. Cyrus has an impressive track record of inspiring high performance people, teams and client programmes.”

     

     

  • Ahuja will report to CEO Valerie Pinto

    Weber Shandwick appoints Aparna Ahuja to build a future-ready agency

    By A Correspondent

     

    Weber Shandwick has announced Arpana Kumar Ahuja as head of integration, strategy and marketing development for Weber Shandwick India. Based in New Delhi, Arpana will report to CEO Valerie Pinto and is positioned to lead the firm’s strategy towards integration and focus on driving a cultural change in order to build a future-ready agency.

     

    A veteran communications professional with over 25 years’ experience, Ahuja is a well-networked and respected professional within the PR industry in India. Most recently, Ahuja was chief growth officer at PR Pundit, prior to which she was the director of communications at  Encyclopedia Britannica.

     

    “We’re well within our journey to become one of the most creative communications firms within the industry and continue to aggressively look for talent that can shape our culture and bring fresh perspective to the business.  Arpana brings to the table a freshness, maturity, client network and aggression that will further enhance our growth positioning in the country,” said Pinto on the appointment.

     

    Commenting on her announcement, Ahuja said, “Weber Shandwick is setting benchmarks world over and have established their position as one of the most relevant PR firms changing the face of the industry, globally.  The work and focus that the agency has today is one that inspires me.  Weber Shandwick is clearly one of the most exciting agencies to work with today and I am looking forward to the journey,”

     

  • The SuperStartUp Council in India will be led by brand builder turned online entrepreneur, Shivjeet Kullar

    Superbrands to honour SuperStartUps in India

    By A Correspondent

     

    Superbrands has announced the launch of SuperStartUps for India. Superbrands invites entries from startups in India to be part of the SuperStartUp honour. This initiative will enable startups to differentiate their brands from an idea perspective and engage users in their brand journey. Startup brands can aim to stand a class apart by being recognised not just for their idea, but also presentation, execution and user satisfaction.

     

    The SuperStartUp Council in India will be led by brand builder turned online entrepreneur, Shivjeet Kullar. It will also features names like ad-film maker Prahalad Kakkar,  Deep Kalra, Founder, Make My Trip, Sanjiv Bikchandani, founder Naukri.com, Valerie Pinto, CEO, Weber Shandwick and Anmol Dar, Founder, Superbrands India amongst others.

     

    Speaking on the launch of the initiative, Dar said, “India is fast rising as the startup destination in the world. With the burgeoning of more than 700 brands each year it has become extremely important to differentiate, with credibility and understand from users themselves. We have chosen to partner with Shivjeet in this ecosystem as he not only understands brands and their architecture but is also an entrepreneur in the startup world himself who is keenly aware of the challenges and nuances of being in the ecosystem”.

     

    Commenting on the initiative and launch in India, Kullar stated, “We are truly excited with the opportunity to bring SuperStartUps to India. Superbrands simply put, sets the standards for trust, respect and breakout performance. We aim to work with netizens from across the country who will shortlist and score startup brands. Letting consumers be the true judge”.

     

  • Weber Shandwick’s pilot of Facebook at Work included nearly a quarter of its worldwide staff and was set-up across teams with varied organizational structures and workflows to gather best-practices and insights that would be applicable to a variety of companies

    Weber Shandwick adopts the Facebook at Work collaboration platform

    By A Correspondent

     

    Weber Shandwick is the first global public relations firm to adopt the Facebook at Work collaboration platform. The enterprise-wide engagement comes on the heels of a successful pilot program that began in late 2015, in which the firm was also the first global PR firm to engage as early adopters. The launch of the platform is part of Weber Shandwick’s ongoing effort to explore and understand new innovative communications platforms for clients engaging key constituencies, employees increasingly being among the most important.

     

    “Facebook at Work will be a player in employee engagement solutions going forward, so we’re adopting it across our company to continue to analyze and understand advantages for clients, as well as benefit from the value it brings to our own highly creative and collaborative global network,”said Chris Perry, Weber Shandwick’s Chief Digital Officer.

     

    Weber Shandwick’s pilot of Facebook at Work included nearly a quarter of its worldwide staff and was set-up across teams with varied organizational structures and workflows  to gather best-practices and insights that would be applicable to a variety of companies.

     

    “Through the pilot, we wanted to understand the platform’s use as a tool for engagement, communications and reputation – as well as how it helps create a more productive and connected workplace,”Valerie Pinto, Weber Shandwick’s Chief Executive Officer said.  “After seeing how successful the pilot was, we’re excited to see the collaboration that occurs when it’s used across geographies, industries and disciplines company-wide,and be able to share our findings with clients to better-inform their practices.”

     

  • Atul Ahluwalia moves to new role of Vice Chairman, India while Dilip Yadav has been promoted to Managing Director Client Services and will also lead Weber Shandwick's Creation brand

    Weber Shandwick strengthens India leadership team

    By A Correspondent

     

    Weber Shandwick has announced the strengthening of its India leadership team. Atul Ahluwalia, formerly managing director, takes on a new role as vice chairman and will continue to lead the firm’s India operations. Dilip Yadav, formerly deputy managing director, has been promoted to become managing director – client services and additionally is appointed managing director of Creation, one of Weber Shandwick’s best-in-class engagement brands.

     

    Also, Carolina Bajaj joins the firm from Edelman and has been appointed deputy managing director, India. Bajaj will be responsible for overseeing the Weber Shandwick Mumbai and Bangalore operations, as well as the India practice teams. Bajaj joins the India senior management team alongside Ahluwalia, Yadav and Mabel Phoon, executive vice president, operations, India.

     

    Bajaj comes to Weber Shandwick from Edelman, India, where she led their India Corporate practice and was head of their West Region, India. She has more than 14 years of experience in public relations across corporate, aviation, real estate, sports, tourism and consumer sectors. She has also previously worked for the Wadia Group.

     

    “Atul continues to deliver strong leadership in India. His new role reflects his stature in the local market,” said Tim Sutton, chairman of Weber Shandwick Asia Pacific. “Dilip’s new roles are testament to his supreme aptitude to build strong, successful client relationships.”

     

    “We are also delighted to welcome Carolina. She holds all the cards to grow our operations in Mumbai and Bangalore significantly and is a great addition to our India-wide leadership team,” said Sutton.

     

    Yadav will continue to report to Ahluwalia but will have additional dotted reporting lines to Baxter Jolly, vice chairman, Asia Pacific, for his client services role, and George Coleman, president of Creation worldwide. Bajaj will also report to Ahluwalia, with dotted reporting into Jolly.

     

  • The agency's India offices have adopted a global identity after the buyout of the joint venture Corporate Voice | Weber Shandwick.

    Weber Shandwick rebrands in India, drops ‘Corporate Voice’ from name

    By A Correspondent

     

    PR agency Weber Shandwick has announced that its offices in India are now operating fully under the Weber Shandwick brand and have adopted the firm’s positioning of “global engaging, always”.  The move comes after Weber Shandwick took on full ownership of its India operations, formerly known as Corporate Voice | Weber Shandwick, in Bengaluru, Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi earlier this year.

     

    “After a 16-year partnership working with Corporate Voice, we’re very pleased to take this next step in bringing our India operations fully into the global Weber Shandwick family,” said Tim Sutton, Chairman, Asia Pacific. “We are continuing to invest heavily in the business and look forward to welcoming new senior and specialist talent across our Indian operations in coming weeks.”

     

    While the agency has a new name and brand icon, the firm’s leadership stays unchanged. Atul Ahluwalia and Dilip Yadav, already leaders at Corporate Voice | Weber Shandwick, will retain their responsibilities under the new titles of Managing Director and Deputy Managing Director, respectively. Mr Ahluwalia reports in to Mr Sutton.

     

    “This is a very exciting time for our team in India,” said Mr Ahluwalia. “As India’s most awarded agency for the past seven years, and with campaigns that top the list of most creative PR work in the world, I am confident that our move to become part of the Weber Shandwick network will only strengthen our operations in India and allow us to contribute to the success of multi-market campaigns around the world.”

     

    The four offices in India are the most recent additions to Weber Shandwick’s Asia Pacific network of 18 owned offices in 12 markets, which stretches from Greater China, Japan and Korea to India, Southeast Asia and Australia.

     

  • If the appointment of PR honcho Harris Diamond as Chairman & CEO of McCann Worldgroup is a success, we could well see a new leadership order in adland

    Diamonds are wherever…

    Left: Harris Diamond, Right top: Gustavo Martinez, Right bottom: Luca Lindner

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    Imagine the head of a large Indian PR agency being appointed CEO of his network’s well-known creative agency? You can’t dream of such an eventuality in India, but not so in the United States of America, where public relations hasn’t hit the bottom of the pyramid as it has here in India.

     

    On Tuesday, November 13, the Interpublic Group announced a series of top management changes at McCann Worldgroup:  Harris Diamond was moved from being Chairman and CEO of IPG’s Constituency Management Group (CMG, which includes Weber Shandwick) to a similar role at McCann Worldgroup, replacing Nick Brien. A new, three-person office of the Chairman has been created which will have Mr Diamond along with Luca Lindner and Gustavo Martinez who have assigned bigger roles with geographic and operational responsibilities.

     

    McCann Erickson is the dominant unit of McCann Worldgroup which also includes UM, Weber Shandwick, Momentum, MRM, Craft Worldwide, McCann Health and Future Brand.

     

    Prasoon Joshi

    What does this mean for India? Not much. Except that until Tuesday, Prasoon Joshi as head of McCann in South Asia reported directly to CEO Nick Brien will now relate with Mr Martinez who takes charge of Asia-Pacific in addition to Europe. Mr Diamond told a Campaign Asia journalist that he had been in touch with Mr Joshi.

     

    Part of the reason why the office of the Chairman has been created is reportedly Mr Diamond’s background of being a Public Relations maven. Widely regarded as among the top 10 PR practitioners in the world, Mr Diamond role at CMG and Weber Shandwick specificially has received several accolades.

     

    His appointment to McCann is significant as he’s possibly the first true blue Public Relations professional taking charge of a large, global creative advertising company.  For IPG, industry observers say, it’s all about managing a communications firm, keeping costs under control, maintaining  a disciplined organization and most importantly: get in sync with the customer’s future strategy.

     

    Reasoned a former colleague David Brain: “In the era of enfranchised consumer and stakeholder and when everyone now ‘gets’ the need to engage and change strategy based on the long term needs of stakeholders and consumers, it is PR thinking not advertising thinking that is best placed to succeed.  Note, I’m labeling advertising thinking as the problem, not necessarily advertising agencies.”

     

    Mr Diamonds work appears cut out. Along with Messrs Lindner and Martinez plus Linus Karlsoon and Daryl Lee, global creative and strategy officers respectively who will take charge of the day-to-day operations of the agency, he needs to first ensure that people do not use ‘ailing’ as a descriptor for McCann Erickson.

     

    PR Week magazine reports on how in the 11 years that Mr Diamond led Weber Shandwick, he created a “powerhouse that had other shops looking over their shoulders”. The magazine’s website notes: “Contemporaries in the industry said he was a visionary who led his firm to be one of the most successful in the country.”

     

    Mr Diamond has the reputation of being cost-conscious and Mr Brain has this view: “My top tip for anyone at McCann who will be meeting Harris in the next few days and weeks is make sure you know how to forecast your revenues; make sure you know your cost base; make sure you are intimately connected with your clients and their needs and make sure you do quality work, because he can sniff BS a mile away!”

     

    Will Harris Diamond shine where Nick Brien didn’t. After all, Mr Brien too came with the reputation of being a successful Universal McCann captain and very customer-focussed. Guess time will tell.

     

    There are many people watching.  The success of this appointment could well see winds of change blowing across adland and the entire world of marketing communications.

     

    And to the world of PR professionals in India: fingers crossed. It could well be your time soon!