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R&P Management communications win IPRA Golden World Awards 2003
MUMBAI: India-based R&P Management Communications is among 33 global winners of the Golden World Awards 2003 at the International Public Relations Association (IPRA) in New York.
Organised by the International Public Relations Association and sponsored by Dai Nippon Printing Co Ltd, awards received entries from Australia, Canada, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Poland, Republic of Korea, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, Turkey, UK and the USA. Thirty three programmes from 14 different countries have won top prizes for excellence in public relations.
R&P Management Communications won the award for a four year awareness campaign on plant biotechnology. Catering to agriculture, the campaign is designed to make farmers aware of the benefits of plant biotechnology, create an environment to make the biotech option available to them and promote acceptance through the spread of science-based information about plant biotechnology through multiple channels.
The campaign used the country’s focus on IT and software to highlight biotechnology’s potential in India with the positioning: IT Today, Biotechnology Tomorrow.
Says R&P Management Communications, managing director Roger C.B. Pereira, “I am delighted that our entry ‘Biotechnology in Agriculture – Generating Public Support & Acceptance” has won an award in the IPRA Golden World Awards. This is the second time we have been honoured with this prestigious award. We had earlier won the award for our social communications TV serial Humraahi, which also went on to win the UN Award.”
The competition’s international jury, composed of 43 senior practitioners from 20 countries, adjudicated 219 entries in London on 5 September 2003. Criteria used by the jury to examine each entry included the competence and quality demonstrated in terms of research, planning, execution and evaluation, the clarity and coherence of messages, creativity and ethics, as well as local conditions in the country of origin.
Each year the jury votes for one of the Category Awards winners to go forward as overall winner. The Grand Prize for Excellence will be announced and presented by Dai Nippon Printing Co Ltd chief executive Yoshitoshi Kitajima, at a gala GWA dinner in New York in February 2004.
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Toyota appoints Kenta Kon as President & CEO
New leader to steer EV push and global innovation amid industry shift.
MUMBAI: Toyota just handed the keys to a new driver because when the road to electric mobility gets twisty, you need someone who knows how to accelerate without skidding. Toyota Motor Corporation has named Kenta Kon as its new president and chief executive officer, a key leadership transition as the Japanese giant doubles down on its transformation in the fast-evolving global automotive landscape.
Kon brings deep expertise in automotive innovation, business strategy, and operational leadership to the top job. His appointment signals Toyota’s intent to sharpen focus on accelerating electric mobility, strengthening worldwide operations, and pushing customer-centric breakthroughs in next-generation technologies.
The company is betting on Kon to guide it through the industry’s pivotal shift toward sustainability, digital integration, and smarter mobility solutions. Key priorities under his watch include ramping up electric and hybrid lineups, expanding global market reach, driving cutting-edge automotive R&D, tightening supply-chain efficiency, and scaling connected and intelligent vehicle ecosystems.
This move comes at a time when legacy automakers face intense pressure to balance heritage strengths with aggressive electrification timelines and software-defined vehicle demands. Toyota aims to reinforce its position as a leader in sustainable, reliable, and future-ready mobility while navigating competitive challenges from both traditional rivals and new-age EV players.
For a brand that’s long defined durability and innovation, Kon’s elevation isn’t just a title change, it’s Toyota flooring it toward the next lap, ready to turn today’s tech talk into tomorrow’s showroom reality.
