MAM
IPAN Hill+Knowlton Strategies announces new leadership for key offices
MUMBAI: Hill+Knowlton Strategies, one of the leading and most respected public affairs and public relations firms in the world, today announced changes to the leadership in two of its most established offices in India, reflecting a period of sustained and robust growth across its largest operations.
Vinod Moorthy, a member of the H+K Strategies team since 2007, has been appointed as Senior Vice President, North India and APAC regional Corporate Practice Leader. Vinod will be based in the H+K Strategies Gurgaon office and takes on this new role after a successful tenure as Senior Vice President, West.
Devasis Chattopadhay, who joined H+K Strategies in early 2013, has been promoted to VP, West India with responsibility for the Mumbai operations and the continued growth of the finance practice across India. He most recently served as Senior Client Services Director in Mumbai.
Radhika Shapoorjee, President, South Asia & India, H+K Strategies commented: “The opportunity in a market like India is that we are in transformative times where we are seeing a political and social change that will have a huge impact on business. This rapid pace of change and growth needs leaders who are flexible and quick to adapt new environments with ease. We inherently believe in giving our senior people the opportunity to experience new markets and take on new roles both in India and internationally. Vinod has been an instrumental part of the Mumbai business for over seven years, and in that time has grown our footprint into diverse sectors including infrastructure, entertainment, FMCG and finance and we’re looking forward to seeing more of that expansion in North India. Devasis has exactly the right level of experience and passion to take the Mumbai business forward to even greater heights. These are exciting times for us here in India.”
Vinod has been associated with the Indian communications industry for over two decades, and has exposure spanning diverse sectors & disciplines. He is a crisis communications expert and has advised CEOs across a wide range of industries on issues including managing policy & regulatory challenges, factory closure & industrial relations, consumer crisis, NGO activism, tax litigation, aircraft crash landing, and environment & health issues.
Devasis brings nearly three decades of senior experience in the corporate and financial communications sector to H+K Strategies. His special expertise is in identifying and resolving the highest priority communication challenges of diversified corporate entities and organizations operating across sectors. Before joining H+K Strategies he held senior positions in companies in the finance and various industrial sectors.
Brands
Faber-Castell India appoints Sunaina Haldar as director – marketing
With stints at Tata, SleepyCat and ADF Foods under her belt, Haldar is primed to redraw Faber-Castell’s brand story
MUMBAI: Faber-Castell India has poached Sunaina Haldar from ADF Foods, appointing her director – marketing as the German stationery brand looks to muscle up in a category that is rapidly reinventing itself around creativity and self-expression.
Haldar hit the ground running. “My first couple of weeks have been incredibly energising, understanding consumers, visiting markets, engaging with retailers and immersing myself into the world of Faber-Castell Group,” she said.
She arrives with considerable firepower. At ADF Foods, Haldar ran marketing across India and international markets for a portfolio spanning Ashoka, Aeroplane, Camel and ADF Soul. Before that, she was vice-president – marketing at direct-to-consumer mattress brand SleepyCat, where she helmed brand, content and performance marketing. Her résumé also includes a stint leading marketing, new product development and CRM for Tata SmartFoodz at Tata Consumer Products, no small proving ground.
Between corporate roles, Haldar also operated as a fractional CMO for early-stage startups, building marketing strategy and operational structures from scratch, a signal that she knows how to move fast with limited resources.
With 18 years straddling FMCG, D2C and the startup world, Haldar now takes the reins at a brand that has long owned the classroom but is clearly hungry for the living room. In a stationery market where the pencil has become a lifestyle statement, Faber-Castell has picked someone who knows exactly how to sell that story.
