MAM
Simi Sabhaney joins Dentsu Communications as Chief Executive Officer
MUMBAI: Dentsu India Group today announced the appointment of Simi Sabhaney as the new Chief Executive Officer of Dentsu Communications. Arijit Ray to lead New Business Development at Dentsu India Group.
Simi, former President (Bangalore and Chennai) at Ogilvy India, is an advertising veteran with more than 24 years of rich experience.
Before joining Dentsu India Group, Simi was with Ogilvy, where she was President – Bangalore and Chennai. Simi has spent over 23 years at Ogilvy and has worked on diverse categories like lifestyle, FMCG, services, social sector as well as realty and on several accounts including Unilever’s F&B brands, Cadbury, Titan, Madura Garments, ITC Foods, SABMiller, The Hindu and many more. Her journey in O&M has taken her from Account Executive to President. While she was primarily based out of Ogilvy’s Bengaluru office, Simi also spent around four years in Ogilvy’s Mumbai office, where she worked on Unilever and Cadbury.
A psychology graduate from Punjab University, Simi completed her post graduation in Mass Communication from Centre for Mass Media, Delhi. She will be based out of Dentsu Communications, Bangalore office and her mandate is to spearhead and strengthen the team and take DCPL to new heights of success.
Welcoming Simi into the Dentsu India Group, Rohit Ohri, Executive Chairman of the Dentsu India Group, said, “It’s been great going for us at Dentsu Communications. I’m looking to Simi to now lead the agency into it’s next phase of growth. Simi’s vast experience on diverse categories will truly add value to our client’s brands and businesses. I love her passion for the business. This passion, I believe, is what will take Dentsu Communications to newer heights.”
Speaking on her appointment as the new CEO of Dentsu Communications, Simi said, “Half an hour into my meeting with Rohit and I had made up my mind. I am ready to take the plunge and experience the unknown. I am ready for the adrenalin rush. I look forward to nurturing, consolidating and growing both internal and external relationships.”
Arijit Ray, Chief Executive Officer of Dentsu Communications will move to the Dentsu India Group to lead the group’s new business initiatives. He will be working closely with Rohit Ohri, Executive Chairman, Dentsu India Group to plan and implement new business development strategies for the group.
Dentsu Communications under Arijit’s leadership saw impressive growth. The agency won multiple businesses, expanded into new geographies and infused top notch talent across various locations.
Commenting on Arijit’s move to the Dentsu India Group, Rohit Ohri said, “Arijit has been a great partner to me in Dentsu’s new exciting journey in India. I now wish to leverage his strengths in new business development for the entire group. I wish him all the luck in his new role. ”
On successfully leading Dentsu Communications and on becoming a part of the Dentsu India Group, Arijit Ray said, “It was a pleasure working with Rohit and the journey across the last 20 months to grow Dentsu Communications across offices, into the largest agency of the Dentsu India Group, has been incredible. I now look forward to working closely with him to spearhead the New Business Acquisition strategy and efforts of Dentsu India Group. I wish Simi a great innings with Dentsu. With her vast experience on brands, I am sure she will leverage the momentum to chart out the next phase of growth for Dentsu Communications.”
Digital
Ethical AI must benefit society, not dominate it, says WFEB chief Sanjay Pradhan at IAA event
At Mumbai event, ethics expert urges businesses and governments to shape AI responsibly
MUMBAI: Artificial intelligence may be racing ahead at lightning speed, but its direction must still be guided by human conscience. That was the central message delivered by Sanjay Pradhan, president of the World Forum for Ethics in Business (WFEB), during the latest edition of IAA Conversations held in Mumbai.
The session was organised by the International Advertising Association (IAA) and the Artificial Intelligence Association of India (AIAI) in association with The Free Press Journal at the Free Press House on 7 March. Addressing a packed audience, Pradhan called for stronger ethical leadership to ensure AI remains a tool that benefits humanity rather than one that governs it.
“Artificial intelligence has rapidly become one of the most powerful technologies humanity has created,” Pradhan said. “It is unlocking breakthroughs in medicine, science and creativity at a pace unimaginable just a few years ago.”
But he warned that the same technology carries serious risks. AI, he noted, can amplify disinformation faster than facts can travel, compromise privacy, deepen discrimination and disrupt millions of livelihoods. Referencing concerns raised by AI pioneers such as Geoffrey Hinton, often called the godfather of AI, Pradhan stressed that the real challenge is not whether AI will shape the world, but whether humans will shape it with ethics and wisdom.
Structuring his talk around four guiding questions, why, what, how and who, Pradhan introduced the audience to WFEB’s emerging AI Ethics Partnership, a global platform aimed at advancing responsible artificial intelligence. He outlined four priority concerns that demand urgent attention: disinformation, bias and discrimination, data privacy and job security.
To make the idea of ethical AI easier to grasp, Pradhan offered a simple metaphor. Ethical AI, he said, is like a three layered cake. The outer layer represents the visible value ethical AI creates for businesses and society. The middle layer is organisational culture that moves ethics from written codes to everyday practice. The innermost layer, however, is the most crucial, the conscience of individual leaders.
Drawing from Indian philosophical thought through WFEB co-founder Ravi Shankar, Pradhan noted that while artificial intelligence can reproduce stored knowledge, true intelligence is boundless and rooted in conscience, creativity and compassion. Practices such as breathwork and meditation, he suggested, can help leaders develop the calm clarity needed for ethical decision making.
The event also featured a discussion with Maninder Adityaraj Singh, chief of staff and head of innovation at Rediffusion Brand Solutions Pvt Ltd, and Yash Johri, lawyer, Supreme Court of India.
Opening the session, IAA India chapter president Abhishek Karnani, highlighted the need for industries to understand and engage with AI responsibly.
“AI has to be befriended and understood,” added Rediffusion managing director and AIAI national convenor Sandeep Goyal. “Its ethical use will determine whether it becomes a friend or a foe.”
As AI continues to reshape industries and societies, Pradhan ended with a simple but powerful call to action. Businesses, governments and individuals must work together to ensure that the algorithms shaping the future reflect human values rather than just cold logic.
