MAM
Fali Vakeel is Lowe Lintas India vice chairman
MUMBAI: Lowe Lintas India has elevated its chief operating officer, Fali Vakeel, to vice chairman.
Vakeel will continue to be based in Mumbai and his new role comes into effect immediately.
Lowe Lintas CEO Joseph George said, “Fali was an obvious and easy choice. His personality, experience and fierce bias for the agency‘s well being will now play an even more pivotal role in helping us chart the future of this agency.”
Prior to joining Lowe Lintas, Vakeel worked in London at JWT and McCann for over eight years and has now been with the organisation for over two decades. He has worked out of the agency‘s Mumbai as well as Bangalore offices.
Chairman and chief creative officer R Balakrishnan (Balki) adds, “Fali introduced me to Lowe Lintas and he is one of the prime reasons why I am here. At Lowe Lintas, the combination of wisdom, irreverence and commitment means Fali.”
MAM
Effie Asia Pacific names Cheryl Goh and Dheeraj Sinha jury heads
Grab and McCann leaders to steer Apac’s top marketing awards in 2026
SINGAPORE: The spotlight at the 2026 Effie Asia Pacific Awards will shine not just on the region’s most effective campaigns, but also on two of its most seasoned marketing leaders. Effie Asia Pacific has appointed Cheryl Goh of Grab and Dheeraj Sinha of McCann India as its first pair of heads of jury, tasking them with leading the charge in judging the year’s most impactful work.
Grab Group head of marketing, sustainability, loyalty and support Cheryl Goh, has been part of the ride-hailing giant’s journey since its early days. As a founding team member, she has helped shape Grab into one of Southeast Asia’s most recognised technology brands. Today, she oversees marketing across the company’s ecosystem, spanning product, communications and growth, while also steering sustainability initiatives and customer experience operations.
Unusually for a global marketing chief, Goh also carries direct commercial responsibility, overseeing the full profit and loss of Grab’s loyalty programmes. It is a rare blend of brand-building finesse and operational rigour. A long-time advocate of marketing effectiveness, she is no stranger to the Effie jury room.
“I am deeply honoured to be appointed as a Head of Jury,” Goh said. “The Effies represent creativity that delivers real impact. In a world shaped by AI, platforms and constantly evolving customer journeys, the balance between imagination and measurable results has never mattered more.”
Joining her is, McCann India chief executive officer and one of the most prominent voices in Indian consumer culture Dheeraj Sinha. Over the years, he has worked with brands including PepsiCo, Uber, Spotify, Amazon, KFC and Mahindra, translating sharp cultural insight into sustained business growth.
Beyond the boardroom, Sinha is an author, podcast host and current president of the Advertising Club of India. A regular speaker at Cannes Lions and frequent juror at global competitions, he brings both creative instinct and strategic discipline to the role.
“The Effies are the gold standard for effectiveness,” Sinha said. “We are at a moment where creativity, data and technology are converging to unlock new dimensions of growth. I look forward to celebrating ideas that inspire and prove the commercial power of creativity.”
The Apac Effie Awards pride themselves on recognising work that works. Their rigorous judging process has earned them a reputation as the global benchmark for marketing effectiveness.
With the final entry deadline set for 9 March, the clock is ticking for brands hoping to impress this year’s jury. Under the guidance of Goh and Sinha, only ideas that marry imagination with impact are likely to take home the silverware.
