MAM
Aim to balance short term goals with long term vision: Cheil India’s new CSO Sourav Ray
New Delhi: Transitioning into a new role amidst a global pandemic is a doubly challenging responsibility. Still, for Cheil India’s recently appointed chief strategy officer Sourav Ray it is the most exciting part about his move.
In an exclusive conversation with Indiantelevision.com, Ray shared, “What we have been experiencing in the recent past is that the strategy and strategists are increasingly gaining more importance both from a client and agency perspective. Clients understand that the old ways are not going to help them navigate this new normal, and they are more open to and interested in working with a strategist.”
He adds that it creates a positive environment for the strategists as clients are more open to take risks and try out new things.
“Earlier, the role of strategist was mostly limited to upper-funnel communication with the clients, but now, they are equally involved in lower-funnel conversations too. So, now we are looking at not just creating awareness and interest but also help in driving the purchases too,” he elaborated.
For Ray, the first item on his agenda in this new role is to drive commerce for the agency and clients. “Given the situation, each industry is dealing with the same question, where to get the business from? Every discussion with clients, no matter if it is about building brand awareness or exploring ways to sell; whether it’s through e-commerce or omnichannel experience, or introducing new platforms, the core of each conversation is business.”
However, while dealing with this short-term crisis, Ray is not losing view of long-term goals for the agency.
“The best thing about Cheil is that we keep having conversations about our long-term plans so that nothing just happens and impacts us. We are always prepared for whatever is coming. Right now, I aim to balance the short-term vision with the long-term goals, drive acceleration for ourselves and the clients.”
He wrapped the conversation by saying, “Change is going to be the only constant for us at Cheil; sometimes, the speed of the change will be furious like it is right now, sometimes it is going to be slower.”
MUMBAI: In India’s fast-moving payments race, Visa has just swiped in a new leader. The company has named Suresh Sethi as its India country head, marking a key leadership shift as it sharpens its focus on digital payments growth in the market. Sethi steps into the role following his recent exit from Protean eGov Technologies, where he served as chief executive officer. He succeeds Sandeep Ghosh, who has moved on after more than four years at Visa to pursue an external opportunity.
The appointment comes at a time when Visa is doubling down on its expansion strategy across India and the wider region, deepening partnerships and accelerating adoption in an increasingly competitive digital payments ecosystem.
Sethi brings with him a broad, cross-market perspective shaped by decades of experience across corporate banking, retail financial services, mobile money and large-scale government technology initiatives. He began his career at Citigroup, where he spent 14 years working across India, Africa, South America and the United States, focusing on transaction banking services within the corporate bank.
His appointment signals a blend of institutional experience and market familiarity qualities that could prove critical as Visa navigates a landscape where fintech innovation, regulatory evolution and consumer adoption are all accelerating at once.
As digital payments in India continue to scale rapidly, the leadership change underscores a simple reality, in a market where every tap, scan and swipe counts, who leads the charge can matter just as much as the technology itself.
