MAM
Razorfish hires MediaCom’s Vik Kathuria as global chief media officer
MUMBAI: Razorfish, a digital and technology agency, has appointed Vik Kathuria as global chief media officer.
Kathuria will report directly to Razorfish’s Global CEO Pete Stein.
In his new role, Kathuria will be responsible for leading the agency’s 300 media employees worldwide, driving Razorfish’s exclusively digital media strategy—from its executive level partner relationships to its proprietary data solution infrastructure—and overseeing a global client roster that includes DHL, Starwood, HSN and Best Buy. He will also be involved in further strengthening and aligning Razorfish’s global media practice and commanding significant new business efforts.
“As we continue to evolve our global media offering and educate clients on the need to employ a digital-centric approach, it is essential we have a leader poised to take us to the next level,” said Stein. “Vik’s experience lies in negotiating digital media strategies that maximize brand investment. He has what it takes to further progress our team, support our shift to programmatic buying and foster our culture of innovation and optimization.”
“Razorfish’s media practice is excelling at a time when many agencies in its position are stagnant,” said Kathuria. “My entire career has been comprised of helping brands and agencies identify progressive integrated media strategies that accelerate ROI. As Global Chief Media Officer I am excited to support Razorfish as it further amplifies an already superior offering.”
A 20-year industry veteran, Kathuria most recently served as global head of digital investment for MediaCom, one of WPP’s leading media agencies under the GroupM umbrella. In this position, he was tasked with establishing network-wide best practices, leading relationships with global publishers and driving multi-market client negotiations. Prior to joining MediaCom in 2008, Kathuria was senior vice president of digital media for OMD and served in senior global marketing positions at Citigroup (New York) and PepsiCo (Singapore). He is the recipient of numerous awards including being named an “Agency Innovator” by Internationalist Magazine and one of Cynopsis’ “Most Intriguing People” in 2013.
Kathuria will begin working out of the agency’s New York City headquarters immediately.
Brands
Hemlata Sharma joins ONEOTT Broadband as chief business officer
Former Zee Media distribution head to steer growth, partnerships and strategy
MUMBAI: Hemlata Sharma has joined ONEOTT Broadband as chief business officer, bringing with her more than three decades of experience across television, telecom and media distribution.
Sharma most recently served as head distribution, research & CRM at Zee Media Corporation Limited, where she worked closely with editorial and senior management while overseeing distribution, consumer research and customer relationships for 14 news channels including Zee News, WION, Zee Hindustan and Zee Business, along with ten regional state channels.
In that role, she led nationwide distribution across platforms such as DTH, Hits, IPTV, cable networks and DD Free Dish. She also drove consumer research and strategic insights on a pan India scale, analysing content performance, anchor impact, programme slots and audience behaviour to guide editorial decisions and programming strategy.
Her portfolio also included managing one of the largest alliances with Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited and overseeing the global distribution monitoring of Wion across North America, Mena, Europe, Africa, APAC and Australia.
Earlier, Sharma briefly served as head sales and distribution at Triplecom Media Pvt Ltd, an engagement driven OTT platform bringing together content, gaming, music and advertising for the entertainment distribution ecosystem.
Her earlier career includes a senior vice president stint at Ten Sports Network, where she played a key role in relaunching the sports broadcaster as an independent bouquet comprising Ten Sports, Ten Cricket, Ten Action and Ten Golf following the Zee takeover. During this period, she moved from vp west to head strategy for cable and dth and later national head retail distribution, helping build the network’s retail distribution vertical across India and launching dedicated golf and football channels.
Before that, Sharma spent over six years at Bharti Airtel as general manager operations for Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. She initially led marketing and corporate communications before moving into sales leadership, where voice sales grew by 86 per cent and revenues by 96 per cent. She later headed business operations, expanding annual business volumes to Rs 100 crore while significantly reducing operational costs.
Sharma began her long association with the media distribution ecosystem at Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited as regional head sales and distribution for central India. During that period, she played a role in the early rollout of pay television channels including Zee Cinema, HBO, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network, while also contributing to the launch of Siti Cable in key central Indian cities.
With her new role at ONEOTT Broadband, Sharma is expected to focus on strengthening business strategy, expanding partnerships and driving growth across the company’s broadband and digital distribution ecosystem.
