Indiantelevision.com Team

(16 Decemeber 2006 3:00 pm)

MUMBAI: Acting on expected lines after the departure of president and COO Santosh Desai, McCann Erickson India has promoted regional creative director South and South East Asia Prasoon Joshi to executive chairman.

Henceforth, all McCann India operations will report to Joshi, who in turn will report to McCann Worldgroup for South and South East Asia regional director Sorab Mistry.

Mistry said that McCann global and regional management recognises Joshi's contribution to the growth of McCann India and are delighted with his new role as executive chairman. He said that Joshi's impact on the Indian advertising industry is legendary and holds even greater promise.

This announcement came almost immediately after Desai's exit from the company. While an official release from the agency states that Desai will be starting his own consultancy, the now former president McCann Erickson has told The Times of India he is joining Kishore Biyani's Future Group to set up a new firm, Future Brands.

"I have been in talks with Kishore for the last few months. That brands need to be treated and nurtured like any other asset has always been an area of personal interest to me. With Future Brands we want to create a hot-house for the country's best brands," the TOI quoted Desai as saying.

McCann says Desai's decision to leave follows extensive discussions with the company's regional and global management.

Joshi, meanwhile, is credited with turning the fortunes of many big brands including, Coca Cola "Thanda", Nescafe, Perfetti (Chlormint, Happydent), Microsoft, HLL (Pears), MasterCard and local brands such as Dabur and NDTV.

He has won more than 300 advertising awards including Gold Lions at Cannes, AdFest Asia, Media Spikes, Cresta, honours at The One Show and Clios and a cache of national awards in India.

Additionally, Joshi has represented India on international award forums like New York Festivals, London International Awards as well as the Clios, D&AD and Cannes juries. He is also a well-published author and a famous lyricist for Bollywood blockbusters and popular music charts.

Commenting on the developments, McCann Worldgroup Asia Pacific regional director Eric Einhorn said, "We have been very excited about the outstanding business and creative performance of our Indian operation and I wish Santosh every success into the future. We have always had great confidence in Prasoon's leadership, not merely for his incredibly high creative standards but because he also brings a sound business sensibility to our clients."