MAM
Dentsu Impact elevates Ajit Devraj & Anupama Ramaswamy to managing partners
NEW DELHI- Dentsu Impact has elevated Ajit Devraj and Anupama Ramaswamy to the role of managing partners. The duo will continue to report into Soumitra Karnik, chief creative officer, Dentsu Impact, Dentsu India & mcgarrybowen India and Amit Wadhwa, President, Dentsu Impact.
In their new role, Ajit and Anupama, together, will oversee the Gurgaon and Bangalore operations for Dentsu Impact. Here, Ajit will be the business lead while Anupama will head the creative arm of the agency. For the record, Dentsu Impact handles significant brands such as Maruti Suzuki, IKEA, Tata Consumer products, Subway, and Carlsberg, to name a few.
Erstwhile executive vice president, Ajit decided to dabble into the creative side of the business in 2018 when he joined Dentsu Impact. Prior to that, he was a management consultant with companies like Accenture and PwC in Australia and the UK.
Anupama has successfully led Dentsu Impact as national creative director for four years. Under her leadership, the team has worked on some prestigious accounts like Maruti Suzuki, Ikea, Tata Tea, Max Hospitals, Max Bupa, Unicharm, Vivo, and many more. Previously, Anupama has worked with agencies like Cheil India, JWT, Draft FCB, and Lowe.
Speaking on the elevation, Devraj said, “I feel honoured to be able to take up the role of managing partner of Dentsu Impact. Our strength lies in being innovative. Over the years, we have built a unique set of capabilities ranging from pure creative and brand work to delivering end-to-end MarTech, design, and business-oriented solutions. A few years ago, bringing in business-driven, management, and consulting skills was a rarity and I would like to thank Amit Wadhwa, Narayan Devanathan, and Soumitra Karnik for their vision. Of course, I am grateful for the support of my team and our wonderful set of clients who have backed my learnings and growth into this role. I am looking forward to taking Dentsu Impact through its next phase of growth and supporting our clients in delivering a fully connected experience to their customers.”
Commenting on her new role, Anupama Ramaswamy added, “Well, it is a huge and challenging responsibility. But creativity comes truly alive when there are constraints. The only way to fight stiff competition is to push ourselves harder, and think even more out-of-the-box. We must march forward into the future with ideas that are different yet relevant at the same time. With so many unique touch-points, it is critical that we become the single partners to every client, thereby ensuring that every element of communication has the same levels of quality and brand integration. The idea is to learn and unlearn and then learn again every single day. Soumitra and Amit have placed their trust in my abilities, and together, I’m sure we will create magic. I am absolutely looking forward to creating memorable stories that will help Dentsu Impact shine.”
Speaking on the development, Soumitra Karnik said, “I am thrilled to announce the second phase of Dentsu Impact. Our journey has been really exciting so far and we are proud to hand over the steering wheel in the able hands of Ajit and Anupama. Both are absolutely amazing at what they do. They bring in a lot of method and discipline, which is required during this time of constant fast changes that our industry is going through. They have a hard task ahead – to embrace ‘what’s new’ faster than others, to deliver growth at the back of solid creative reputation, to be always ‘people-first’ and to keep the joy of advertising intact.”
Amit Wadhwa added, “This is an important phase for Dentsu Impact. We move into a new era, hereon, where creativity embraces the new approach to communication. We could not have better leaders than Ajit and Anu to lead the organisation into this exciting phase. Both come with extremely balanced mindsets and have the hunger and eagerness to accept new challenges and work towards achieving them. I am excited!”
Brands
Oyo parent Prism appoints former Sebi chief Ajay Tyagi to Board
Former market regulator joins Prism to strengthen governance for IPO
NEW DELHI: Prism, the parent entity of Oyo, has appointed former Sebi chairman Ajay Tyagi as an independent director, as the hospitality firm gears up for its planned Rs 6,650 crore initial public offering (IPO).
Tyagi, a 1984-batch IAS officer, served as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) from 2017 to 2022. His appointment is aimed at strengthening the company’s governance framework and providing strategic oversight as it moves closer to a public listing.
He joins a high-profile board that already includes several prominent names from global business and policy circles. These include Troy Matthew Alstead, former CFO and group president of Starbucks; Aditya Ghosh, co-founder of Akasa Air; Deepa Malik, paralympic athlete and Padma Shri awardee; William Steve Albrecht, professor of accountancy at Utah State University; and Bejul Somaia, partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Prism founder Ritesh Agarwal, said Tyagi’s experience in capital markets regulation and public-institution stewardship will be critical as the company scales operations and enhances long-term accountability.
The company recently filed preliminary papers with Sebi to raise Rs 6,650 crore through a confidential route. Market sources estimate its valuation will be in the range of $7 billion to $8 billion.
Over the course of his career, Tyagi has held senior roles in the ministry of finance, where he oversaw investment policy and financial-sector reforms. His induction to the Prism board signals a renewed focus on aligning the company’s internal standards with the stringent requirements of public markets as it advances toward its IPO.
