MAM
FCB Kinnect elevates Kejal Teckchandani to EVP – Influencer Outreach
Mumbai: FCB Kinnect has announced the elevation of Kejal Teckchandani from senior vice president to executive vice president of influencer Outreach. The agency has also elevated Mala Sharma to AVP – Influencer Outreach.
Kejal has played a pivotal role in building Kinnect Outreach, now India’s largest and most efficient influencer, celebrity and partnerships desk. Under her guidance, the agency has consistently been ranked as the ‘Influencer Marketing Agency of the Year’ at Campaign Asia and has also bagged three consecutive titles at ET BrandEquity.
Kinnect Outreach is also the only influencer desk in the country to have won global accolades such as Cannes Lions, Clios, One Shows, D&ADs, and more for campaigns like Vigil Aunty (HDFC Bank) and Chatpat (SOSCVI).
During Kejal’s seven years at FCB Kinnect, she has established a data-centric team that transcends traditional influencer buying, marrying data and creativity with a brand-building strategy. She’s also added a dedicated creative team that tackles end-to-end influencer briefs to the existing influencer desk of 50+ at FCB Kinnect.
Together they have worked for the top brands in the country like Amazon, Asian Paints, Google, Intel, Lenovo, ITC Foods, SBI, HDFC Bank, Tata EV, and more. This strong portfolio of work and clients makes Kinnect Outreach the strongest influencer service provider in the country, which has also become the preferred partner of choice for Google and Meta.
What sets Kinnect Outreach apart is its ability to match the right brief with the right creator and ensure the perfect brand fit.
With over 13 years of experience in Finance, Kejal possesses a deep understanding of the critical importance of ROI and value addition for clients. In a highly unorganized market, this has helped her build an influencer business model that delivers cost efficiencies to brands through strong relationships with the influencer community, from top-tier celebrities to localised micro-influencers.
To enhance transparency among clients, she developed KinnectFluence, a proprietary tool and live dashboard that oversees the entire lifecycle of influencer marketing campaigns.
Speaking on the elevation, FCB Kinnect and FCB/SIX India CEO Rohan Mehta said, “With India’s influencer marketing sector projected to reach INR 33.75 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 18 per cent, the impact of influencer marketing is undeniable. For every consumer-facing brand, implementing an influencer strategy is essential. Kejal has done a fantastic job in building and growing Kinnect Outreach, shaping her team to think like a creative agency and execute like a media agency. Under her leadership Kinnect Outreach powers influencer marketing capabilities not only for FCB Kinnect but for the entire Group.”
Influencer executive vice president Kejal Teckchandani added, “Building the leading influencer desk in the country and giving our clients a competitive edge has been incredibly gratifying. Although I come from a background in finance, I found my true calling in advertising, and I couldn’t be happier with this transition. Our goal has always been to harness creativity in influencer marketing to drive economic value for brands. It has been a fantastic journey, and we will continue to invest in data, tools, and people to elevate Kinnect Outreach to even greater heights.”
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Havas Media Network India names Archana Aggarwal chief growth officer
The appointment comes as the network accelerates its integrated, data-led push across one of its top ten global markets.
MUMBAI: Havas Media Network India is moving fast, and it wants someone who can move faster.
The network has appointed Archana Aggarwal as chief growth officer, tasking her with driving the new business agenda and deepening client partnerships across Havas Media, PivotRoots, Havas Play and Arena Media. Based in Gurugram, she will report to Mohit Joshi, chief executive of Havas Media Network India.
Aggarwal arrives with more than two decades of media and marketing experience, most recently as vice-president of media at Airtel, where she led integrated media strategies tied to shifting consumer behaviour and business outcomes. Before that, she worked across some of the world’s most demanding marketing accounts, including P&G, Unilever, L’Oréal, Coca-Cola, the Diamond Trading Corporation and Airtel, spanning FMCG, telecom and the broader marketing ecosystem. She is noted for her command of emerging platforms, including connected TV, AI and the metaverse.
Rana Barua, group chief executive of Havas India, South-East Asia and North Asia, framed the hire as timely. “India continues to be a critical market for Havas globally and is among our top ten markets worldwide,” he said, noting strong momentum across the network’s integrated model and growing client partnerships. “Archana’s appointment comes at a pivotal time as we continue to scale our capabilities and accelerate growth.”
Joshi was equally direct. “Her deep understanding of consumer behaviour and proven ability to translate insights into business outcomes will be instrumental as we continue to scale our integrated, data-led capabilities across agencies,” he said.
Havas Media Network India currently serves more than 100 clients and employs over 1,000 professionals across Gurugram, Mumbai and Bengaluru. The network’s growth engine runs on Converged.AI, its proprietary operating system that brings together data, technology and human insight under the global vision of “Growth Powered by Desire.”
Aggarwal, for her part, called the opportunity compelling. “The chance to drive growth across a diverse and integrated ecosystem is exciting,” she said. “I look forward to working with the teams to deliver meaningful impact for clients.”
In a market where media fragmentation is accelerating and clients are demanding cleaner proof of return, Havas has hired someone who has sat on both sides of the table. That, in itself, is a statement of intent.
