MAM
WPP’s Cohn & Wolfe appoints new corporate practice leadership
MUMBAI: WPP’s brand communications agency Cohn & Wolfe has appointed Andrew Escott, formerly managing director of UK Corporate, as global corporate practice leader effective immediately.
Escott takes over from Geoff Beattie, who last week was named global leader of Cohn & Wolfe’s new Strategic Consulting Unit.
Helen Searle, formerly UK Corporate director, steps up to become managing director of UK Corporate.
The Corporate Practice operates across Cohn & Wolfe offices worldwide, covering all aspects of Reputation Management including Crisis and Issues Management, Business-to-Business Communications, CSR & Sustainability, Employee Engagement, Public Affairs and Corporate Storytelling.
“Demand for our corporate reputation work has grown significantly around the world and Andrew has been a major contributor to our success. Under Andrew’s leadership, I see our Corporate Practice continuing to be a significant driver across Cohn & Wolfe markets,” said Cohn & Wolfe CEO Donna Imperato.
The UK has been among the agency’s stand-out markets for corporate work. Over the past four years, the UK Corporate Practice doubled revenues, expanded its suite of services and added major global brands in the natural resources, financial services, healthcare and food and drink industries. Current clients include Warburtons, Twinings, Ferrero, Asia Pulp & Paper and Lloyds Banking Group.
Escott said, “The global business environment has never been tougher so our clients need a partner that can seamlessly both protect and promote their business. That’s what we have built in London and it has been a successful and differentiated model driven by a hugely talented team. Helen is a great leader, a critical part of our recent success and I have no doubt she will take the business even further.”
Escott joined Cohn & Wolfe in 2009 to drive the UK office’s crisis management and corporate health capabilities. In 2010, he founded Cohn & Wolfe Political Counsel, the agency’s first public affairs service. Since then he has worked across service areas to create a fully integrated Corporate Practice able to advise clients on all aspects of reputation management. While managing director of the UK Corporate Practice, Escott’s client work included Danone, Warburtons and Asia Pulp & Paper.
Searle joined Cohn & Wolfe in 2012 as a corporate director and now leads integrated corporate brand campaigns for clients such as Lloyds Banking Group, Danone and Make. Searle brings more than a dozen years’ experience at agencies such as Blue Rubicon and Weber Shandwick, where she delivered award-winning campaigns for Aviva, O2, RBS and Visa. Searle is a specialist in devising creative corporate campaigns that embrace both B2B and B2C audiences.
Brands
Dabur buys minority stake in Ras Beauty for Rs 60 crore
Dabur Ventures deal backs fast-growing luxury skincare brand
MUMBAI: Dabur India Limited has dipped into the world of luxury skincare, signing a definitive agreement to acquire a minority stake in Ras Beauty Private Limited for Rs 60 crore. The investment marks the first bet from Dabur Ventures, the FMCG major’s Rs 500 crore platform set up in October 2025 to back high-potential, new-age direct-to-consumer brands.
Founded in Raipur by Shubhika Jain, her sister Suramya Jain and their mother Sangeeta Jain, Ras Beauty has grown from a family-led passion project into a fast-scaling “Farm-to-Face” skincare label. Its range of face elixirs, serums and moisturisers blends essential oils with nature-derived actives, striking a balance between botanical purity and laboratory precision.
The numbers tell their own story. Ras has clocked a three-year Cagr of around 75 per cent and an annual run rate of approximately Rs 100 crore, all while maintaining strong gross margins. That growth has been fuelled by a digital-first approach, in-house R&D and manufacturing, and a sharp focus on clean, sustainable sourcing.
Dabur India executive director and group head corporate strategy Abhinav Dhall, said the company was drawn to Ras’s distinct positioning at the intersection of nature, science and luxury. He added that the premium beauty segment is poised for robust expansion over the coming decade, and that Ras is well placed to capture that opportunity.
For Ras, the partnership is as much about scale as it is about shared philosophy. Co-founder and CEO Shubhika Jain said Dabur’s 141-year legacy of building trusted, purpose-led brands makes it a natural ally. The capital infusion, she noted, will help accelerate the brand’s omnichannel footprint, deepen research capabilities and invest in team and brand building, with an eye on establishing Ras as a leading Indian luxury skincare name both domestically and overseas.
With this move, Dabur is not just investing in a skincare label. It is placing an early wager on India’s growing appetite for premium, conscious beauty, and signalling that heritage FMCG players are ready to play in the new-age D2C arena.
