MAM
Asics teams up with Joshna Chinappa to inspire young athletes
Mumbai: Sports equipment company Asics has announced Indian squash player Joshna Chinappa as its new brand athlete. This partnership would further strengthen the company’s commitment, spread awareness about the diverse offerings and magnify the reach of the brand, it said.
“Our beliefs and efforts have always focused on empowering youth in India and making a positive change. We at Asics also believe that as the leading sports brand in India it is important to encourage girls to take up sport,” said Asics India and South Asia MD Rajat Khurana. “Over the last couple of years, Joshna and many other Indian women have emerged as torchbearers with their outstanding performances. Asics is very keen to support India’s youth and to build a stronger sporting spirit and ambition in them.”
Currently ranked as number 10 worldwide, Chinappa is a two-time Asian Championship gold medalist. In 2014, she was the first Indian to win a gold medal in doubles at the Commonwealth Game. Chinappa has inscribed her name at the British US Open and national championships.
“Asics has an incredible track record for helping athletes across sports and enabling them to reach the peak of their sport. With them, I hope to take my performances to the next level on the field, and also help create change off it,” said Chinappa on the association. “Our aim together is to improve participation of Indian youth in sports and women empowerment and I am confident of creating the change with Asics.”
Asics has been working with young and fresh athletic talents across various genres of sports including Indian athletes Manika Batra, Bajrang Punia, Ravindra Jadeja, Sakshi Malik, along with international athletes like Novak Djokovic
Brands
Hardik Jhaveri named senior director marketing at Colgate-Palmolive Asean hub
Former Hill’s Pet Nutrition general manager returns to the company to steer marketing for South Asean from Kuala Lumpur
KUALA LUMPUR: Hardik Jhaveri has been appointed senior director marketing for the South Asean hub at Colgate-Palmolive, marking a return to the consumer goods major after a three year stint with Hill’s Pet Nutrition. He will be based in Kuala Lumpur and will lead marketing strategy for the region.
Jhaveri joins the role after serving as general manager at Hill’s Pet Nutrition in Taipei, where he led a cross functional team and oversaw the business with full profit and loss responsibility. The role placed him at the helm of operations in Taiwan, managing growth in what he described as a start-up style environment within a global multinational.
Before that, Jhaveri spent over a decade with Colgate-Palmolive across several marketing and innovation roles in Asia. As associate director innovation for Apac excluding China, based in Hong Kong, he led new product development and launches across multiple markets.
His portfolio ranged from developing specialised oral care products such as a diabetes focused toothpaste for the Indian market to launching premium oral care experiences under the Colgate Total brand in Australia. Alongside innovation, he also worked on launch planning, brand strategy and communications for the company’s oral care portfolio.
Earlier in his Colgate-Palmolive journey, Jhaveri held roles including marketing manager innovation, senior brand manager and brand manager. His work spanned urban and rural markets in Mumbai and customer development responsibilities in the Greater Kolkata Area.
Prior to his long association with Colgate-Palmolive, Jhaveri worked as brand officer home care at Unilever, where he helped drive marketing initiatives for the Rin detergent brand, including nationwide relaunch and on ground activation campaigns.
He began his career in advertising with Bates David Enterprise, working on brands such as IDBI Bank, The Leela Hotels and The Times of India.
Jhaveri holds a post graduate programme in management from the Indian School of Business and has also completed a level 4 diploma in wine from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust.
Announcing the move, Jhaveri said he is excited to begin his new chapter at Colgate-Palmolive’s South Asean hub and thanked colleagues and mentors who supported his journey at Hill’s Pet Nutrition.
