MAM
Commonwealth’s Shally Mukherjee joins DDB Mudra as SVP
MUMBAI: Shally Mukherjee, a veteran with sixteen years of experience with advertising agencies like Leo Burnett, JWT and FCB Ulka, has been appointed as DDB Mudra Mumbai senior vice president.
She will handle a portfolio of businesses which include FMCG, realty, tourism and corporate. She will report to DDB Mudra Group Mumbai president Rajiv Sabnis.
Mukherjee comes in from Commonwealth, the joint venture agency between McCann and Goldby Silverstein created specially to service the Chevy account. She has worked across categories and has significant experience in handling regional multinational FMCG businesses.
Sabnis said, “Shally is now a member of the DDB Mudra Group family. She joins not just an office or agency but a large, integrated communications conglomerate and a family of over 1150 people. We hope that her experience and expertise meets with exciting challenges and opportunities provided by our clients and brands. We welcome her and wish her a great career here, in the years to come.”
Mukherjee, said, “This opportunity is a perfect next step in terms of mutual value addition. DDB Mudra is going through very exciting times and I am delighted to be a part of it. I am sure the sheer challenge of my mandate here will ensure hugely eventful times ahead.”
At Commonwealth Mumbai she led global projects and also had the mandate for Korea for Chevrolet. Before that, she was at Leo Burnett as vice president and regional account director on P&G Asia Pacific.
Her mandate was to lead the Mumbai hub, one of the four global hubs for P&G Femcare (Whisper). She led the Asia Pacific business for Femcare and has extensive experience in their key markets- India, Philippines, Japan and Korea where she also the shopper and digital partner agency teams.
Brands
Chinese Wok appoints Havas as integrated creative and media partner
Desi-Chinese chain bets on integrated creative and media muscle to power national expansion
MUMBAI: Chinese Wok is turning up the heat. India’s largest desi-Chinese qsr chain has appointed Havas Creative India and Arena Media as its integrated creative, social and digital media partner, sharpening its marketing firepower as it pushes past 260 outlets and eyes 500 stores across tier 1, 2 and 3 cities.
The mandate is sweeping. Havas Creative India and Arena Media, part of Havas Media Network India, will steer creative strategy, brand campaigns, social media, digital performance marketing and media planning and buying, orchestrating campaigns across atl, digital and in-store touchpoints. The brief: build a unified, platform-led brand system fit for national scale.
Founded in 2015 under Lenexis Foodworks, Chinese Wok has grown into the country’s largest Chinese qsr brand, with a footprint spanning more than 50 cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Lucknow and Hyderabad. Now it wants more. Much more.
Aayush Madhusudan Agrawal, founder and director, Lenexis Foodworks, said the shift marks an investment in integrated brand building that matches the company’s growth ambitions. “As Chinese Wok scales nationally, we are investing in integrated brand building that matches our growth ambition. Havas will partner with us in shaping the next chapter of our journey, where creativity, culture and commerce work seamlessly together.”
The brand is doubling down on its youth-first positioning, amplifying cultural properties such as Wok FM and Crush Hour while building a broader content slate. The pivot away from campaign-led bursts to a continuous, platform-driven narrative signals a more systematised approach to brand equity.
Vikas Iyer, marketing head, Lenexis Foodworks, framed the move as essential to winning over Gen Z. “Chinese Wok has always been a culture-first brand, and as we deepen our connect with Gen Z, integration becomes critical. With Havas, we aim to create sharper campaigns, stronger digital ecosystems, and measurable impact, ensuring the brand stays relevant, visible, and performance-driven at scale”.
On the creative front, Anupama Ramaswamy, managing director and chief creative officer, Havas Creative India, described the brand as “pure fire, fast, flavourful and completely plugged into pop culture”. Her ambition: “to bottle that energy into a living brand platform that fuels everything, from big campaigns to cheeky social chatter to irresistible in-store experiences.” The goal, she added, is “stronger brand love, deeper youth obsession, and work that doesn’t just look good but moves business. More heat. More heart. More hunger”.
Uday Mohan, coo, Havas Media India and Havas Play, said integration is the real unlock. “By bringing together creative, media, and performance under one cohesive vision, we aim to build a brand ecosystem that is culturally sharp, digitally agile, and built for scale”.
Lenexis Foodworks also operates The Momo Co. and Big Bowl, but Chinese Wok remains its flagship and growth engine . As competition intensifies in India’s fast-food sector, scale alone is no longer enough. Cultural fluency, data-driven performance and seamless brand experiences are the new battleground.
Chinese Wok is betting that with Havas in its corner, it can serve up all three — fast, loud and at national scale.
