ESPN and Special Olympics bolster collaboration with 8-year broadcast agreement

GoMechanic, India’s largest network of technology-enabled car service centres has announced that Suyash Kumar, who was the eMobility business lead for Ashok Leyland has come on board to drive it’s EV strategy and plan. In this role, Kumar will be responsible for building an integrated EV strategy for GoMechanic and building the right talent and capabilities in the unit to ensure effective delivery.

In September, the company inked exclusive services and maintenance partnership with Revolt Motors, makers of India's first AI-enabled electric motorcycle. GoMechanic is making major infrastructure renovation at its workshops to accommodate dedicated EV servicing bays.

Commenting on Kumar's appointment, Kushal Karwa, Co-Founder, GoMechanic, said, “We were looking at someone to anchor our EV strategy which is a critical and integral part of our plan to be ahead of the curve when it comes to EV maintenance, servicing and related areas in India. Suyash was consulting with us for some time post his stint at Ashok Leyland and the extensive progress made, convinced us that it is time to move further. We are excited to have him on-board to exclusively drive this critical new initiative for us.”

In his comments, Suyash Kumar, Head – EV, operations and expansion, GoMechanic, said, ”The stint at Ashok Leyland provided me substantial insights into the EV industry and specifically around the EV ecosystem. I believe EVs make practical sense for India and with the push from the government that we see today, EVs adoption will be quick. The opportunity to make GoMechanic a pre-eminent player to go to for anything related to the EV ecosystem is exciting and huge. GoMechanic provides the largest network of touchpoints across cities, and thus this gives an opportunity to increase utilisation of this available real estate for all EV ecosystem like charging infra, maintenance and network touchpoints for vehicle manufacturers like Revolt.”

Suyash Kumar, in his first stint at Ashok Leyland, had worked in the after-sales and marketing function post which he had a brief stint in consulting. In his second stint at Ashok Leyland, he served as eMobility Business Lead from 2017 to 2018.

An Indian School of Business alumnus, he earned his degree in Marketing and Strategy in 2017. He brings expertise in the areas of leadership, business development, strategy and operational excellence.

Suyash Kumar, in his first stint at Ashok Leyland, had worked in the after-sales and marketing function post which he had a brief stint in consulting. In his second stint at Ashok Leyland, he served as eMobility Business Lead from 2017 to 2018.

Commenting on Kumar's appointment, Kushal Karwa, Co-Founder, GoMechanic, said, “We were looking at someone to anchor our EV strategy which is a critical and integral part of our plan to be ahead of the curve when it comes to EV maintenance, servicing and related areas in India. Suyash was consulting with us for some time post his stint at Ashok Leyland and the extensive progress made, convinced us that it is time to move further. We are excited to have him on-board to exclusively drive this critical new initiative for us.”

Suraj Pombra elevated to Executive Director at Publicis India, and Market Acceleration Lead at Publicis Emil India

Publicis India has elevated Suraj Pombra to the role of Executive Director effective immediately. He was until recently the Executive Vice President, managing business and clients for Publicis Capital’s Mumbai office.

Pombra will continue to manage a cluster of brands under Publicis Capital including L'Oréal, Netmeds.com, Zee5 India and Linen Club while also being involved in new business growth mandate for the agency. He will continue to report to Srija Chatterjee, MD, Publicis India.

Pombra will also take over the role of Market Acceleration Lead (Country Head) at Publicis Emil, the new model integrated agency created by the Publicis Groupe to specially manage the global digital transformation mandate for Mercedes-Benz.

Commenting on his new role, Chatterjee said: “Suraj has been one of our top performers managing key clients and winning new businesses consistently for over 3 years now. Under his leadership, the Mumbai office has seen an exponential growth while he also effectively continues to drive and mentor a strong and dedicated team of doers. I am also thrilled as he undertakes a new role to steer Publicis Emil in India and am confident he will continue to exceed expectations as always.”

On the elevation, Pombra said: “After my entrepreneurial adventure, the challenge of growing a modest operation at Publicis Capital Mumbai was naturally enticing. I’m fortunate to have had a fantastic & committed team that’s partnered me in chasing this growth and I’m sure will help take it farther. I’m also honoured to have been entrusted with the leadership of Publicis Emil India, to partner Daimler India in their journey of transformation and in the process take the Mercedes-Benz brand and business to even greater heights. And I’m once again fortunate to have a young, enthusiastic and talented team to help do just that.”

Pombra’s career spans over two decades where he has worked across reputed ad firms managing multiple clients and brands across agencies such as DDB Mudra, Grey, JWT and of course Publicis where he has had two stints including the current one of over 3 years.
Prior to Publicis India, he had co-founded a Mumbai based start-up called Minority that focussed on brand consulting and full-service communications for a number of clients.

Following a competitive multi-agency pitch that lasted well over three months, GroupM’s media agency MediaCom has been awarded the media mandate for Parle Agro. The mandate is for the Indian sub-continent with a total media value of Rs 200 crore.

Speaking about the appointment, Nadia Chauhan, Joint Managing Director and CMO, Parle Agro said, “We are happy to have MediaCom on board.  As Parle Agro gears up for the next level of growth, our strategic partnership with MediaCom will help drive our aggressive targets through innovative and disruptive media strategies.”

Commenting on the win, Prasanth Kumar, CEO, Group M South Asia, said, "First, massive congratulations to MediaCom on the Parle Agro business win. It’s a very special moment for us. It is a fantastic opportunity to work on the portfolio of iconic brands across the Parle Agro group. And I am confident Navin and his team will continue to bring in their collective experience and leverage our network’s strengths to deliver the best for Parle Agro’s portfolio of brands."

Navin Khemka, CEO, MediaCom South Asia, added, "Parle Agro has a long and illustrious history – it has established leading household beverage brands by creating innovative and iconic products for over 34 years. We are completely in sync with their philosophy – and what makes this partnership even more exciting is that pursuing growth is our primary target, which calls for an extremely dynamic association. We are looking forward to creating an unmatched brand experience for our consumers."

The account will be managed and supervised by the MediaCom Mumbai office. MediaCom will begin working on the account from next month. The incumbent media agency for Parle Agro is OMD.

Mirum India, a digital marketing solutions agency has won the mandate for marketing automation services for Joyalukkas jewellery. 

Joyallukas is one of the most trusted jewelry chains across the globe with over 160 retail outlets in 14 countries. As a consumer centric brand, Joyalukkas believes in engaging with its large consumer base using contextual and personalized communication across all digital channels, such as email, SMS, social channels, mobile etc.

Mirum has come on board as a strategic digital and implementation partner for entire Salesforce Marketing Cloud stack.  Mirum will be responsible for set up of Email Studio, Mobile Studio, Social Studio and Advertising Studio for the jewellery brand. The agency will also facilitate integration of marketing cloud with other external systems, such as Joyallukas’s e-commerce portal; point-of-sale solution; and its loyalty program.

Mihir Karkare, EVP – Mirum India, says, “We are thrilled to work with one of the biggest jewelry brands in India. Marketing Automation is the future of digital marketing and every consumer centric brand will need to have a marketing automation platform in the near future. As a Salesforce Gold Consulting partner, with 8+    years of experience and having done close to 80+ implementations of the marketing cloud stack, we are confident of delivering best-in-class solution for Joyalukkas”.

Titan Company Ltd announced growth in income of 0.6% for the second quarter. The income from operations in the second quarter, July to September 2019, was Rs 4435 crore, against last year's income of Rs.4407 crore during the same period. The income for April to September 2019, the first half of this financial year, stands at Rs 9375 crore, registering a growth of 7.4% over last year.

The Standalone PBT for Q2 is Rs 429 crore, against Rs 446 crore last year. The growth in the profit before tax for the quarter was impacted due to the flat growth in revenues compounded by an increase in certain overheads.

The Jewellery business had a subdued quarter on the back of very high gold prices, recording an income of Rs 3528 crore as compared to Rs 3582 crore last year. The Watches business recorded an income of Rs 719 crore against Rs 676 crore in the previous year, a growth of 6.4%. The Jewellery division continues to gain market share registering a growth of 5.9% in revenue for the first half of this year and the Watches business is growing at a healthy 12.9% for the same period. The Eyewear business grew well, by 28.5% in the quarter, recording an income of Rs 154 crore as against Rs 120 crore last year. Other segments of the company comprising accessories, fragrances and Indian dress wear grew by 33.2% in Q2 recording an income of Rs 44 crore. The previous year income for this segment in Q2 was Rs 33 crore.

The Company's retail chain stands at 1668 stores, as on 30th September 2019 with a retail area crossing 2.1 million sq.ft. nationally for all its brands.

CK Venkataraman, Managing Director of the Titan Company Ltd stated that "The company has done well across all its businesses in the second quarter given the subdued market and consumer sentiments. The Jewellery business has done better than most players in the industry. Both the Watches as well as Eyewear business have recorded good growth. For the second half of FY20 we are gearing up on all fronts to stimulate demand with innovative campaigns for new exclusive collections that are lined up for launch across all our brands".

Big Trunk Communications, a Mumbai-based independent creative digital agency, recently announced the appointment of Praharsh Dixit as Head - Social Media at its Mumbai office.

Dixit will be heading the Strategy and Social Media team at this young and enthusiastic agency and will be paving way for acquiring new businesses with constructive strategies to promote the growth of the organization. Under the same, he will also play a crucial role in nurturing existing clients and meeting their diverse requirements in the social media arena by providing creative and innovative solutions.

Dixit’s experience narrates his immediate past assignment as Manager of Digital Strategy with NetBiz Systems Pvt. Ltd. wherein he was instrumental in channelizing team efforts and contributions, articulating strategies for renowned brands and executing the same to leverage their presence on various digital platforms.

Commenting on the same, Akhil Nair, CEO, Big Trunk Communications, says, “We extend a warm welcome to Praharsh. We believe that his expertise when clubbed with our goals, will lead to desirable outcomes. We look forward to a long and fruitful association with Praharsh to further strengthen the presence of Big Trunk Communications.”

His experience also records his association with some top-notch firms like Fanatics, Gutenberg Communications and Tata Consultancy Services. 

Speaking about his appointment, Praharsh Dixit, Head – Social media said, “It gives me immense pleasure to be associated with an agency of creative and passionate minds. My areas of focus include constructing new and effective strategies to enhance the social media presence of all the existing clients and pitching prospective clients. I have a feeling that this is going to be a thrilling journey and I am committed to innovate and deliver maximum value to Big Trunk.”

TO THE NEW, a digital technology company has appointed TK Verma to head their Enterprises Business in the United States. Verma is a seasoned IT leader and holds over 25 years of experience in the BFSI industry.

TO THE NEW boasts of a very strong portfolio of clients in the US which includes many Silicon Valley start-ups as well as Fortune 500 companies. The company leverages a wide spectrum of cutting-edge technologies, including Cloud and Data Engineering, helping global enterprises with digital transformation solutions.

Verma has played various leadership and consulting roles at global financial services firms like BOA Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and BNY Mellon. In these roles, Verma has successfully delivered complex large scale IT initiatives involving global teams and stakeholders.

Verma earned his MBA degree in Finance from NYU Stern School of Business and Bachelor of Engineering degree in Computer Science from Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee.

“TO THE NEW’s exemplary growth is a result of investment in its people and tenacity to deliver the best possible outcomes to its clients. Riding on top of Agility coupled with strong engineering capabilities, the company has set new benchmarks in the IT and software services industry. I am very excited to be part of the TO THE NEW team and look forward to contributing to TTN’s growth in the US” says TK Verma.

On the appointment, Deepak Mittal, CEO & Co-founder, TO THE NEW commented, “I am extremely pleased to welcome TK to head our US Enterprise business. I am certain that his deep industry experience of over 25 years in the IT and Financial Services will provide immense value to our customers in the US”.