MAM
Carter Murray Named CEO of Draftfcb Worldwide
MUMBAI: The Interpublic Group (IPG) has named Carter Murray Draftfcb Worldwide CEO. He replaces Laurence Boschetto, who will remain with the agency through a transitional period and then serve as a Senior Advisor to IPG in a consulting capacity. Murray will be based out of New York.
Thirty eight year old Murray comes in from WPP’s Y&R, where he was president and CEO for North America and Y&R New York CEO. He has previously served as chief marketing officer and worldwide account director on Nestlé, as well as a member of the executive committee at Publicis Worldwide.
Murray began his career at Leo Burnett in Chicago and has held a number of posts at the agency, including stints in Germany and the United Kingdom. Howard Draft will continue in his role as executive chairman at Draftfcb.
IPG chairman and CEO Michael I Roth said, “We‘re very pleased to welcome Carter in this key role at an important time for Draftfcb. He understands consumer advertising and brands, has demonstrated the ability to motivate diverse teams and raise the quality of creative work, nurture client relationships and win global business. This combination of skills and experience in a dynamic new leader is what the agency needs in order to evolve its integrated model and drive growth.”
Roth added, “We thank Laurence for his contributions to our search for his successor and to the agency, including a consistent and high level of operational and financial delivery. We wish him well in his ongoing industry activity, particularly in the area of diversity and inclusion, where we will continue to work together.”
Murray said, “I am greatly looking forward to this opportunity. Draftfcb has outstanding people, clients and a commitment to putting together the best of brand advertising and accountable communications disciplines, such as digital, CRM and activation. That‘s a powerful promise we must make good on. When we do, the Draftfcb offer will be hard for clients to resist. Working with the strong leadership teams across the network and with Interpublic‘s continued support, I feel we can deliver on that vision and do something really special.”
Boschetto said, “Carter brings energy, a new perspective and range of talents that will take us to the next level. I‘ll do everything to help him step into the CEO role seamlessly and I know our senior teams will do so as well. I thank all of our nearly 9,000 people around the world for their support and I know the agency‘s best days are ahead. Moving onto the next chapter personally, in working to promote our industry and in particular to work for greater diversity among our ranks, is something to which I am very much looking forward.”
MAM
Sameer Nair shares heartfelt note as he exits Applause Entertainment
After nine years building the streamer’s content engine, one of India’s best-known TV men is moving on
MUMBAI: Sameer Nair is out. The chief executive of Applause Entertainment, the content studio backed by Kumar Mangalam Birla’s media empire, has announced his departure after nearly nine years at the helm, closing the chapter on one of Indian entertainment’s more quietly consequential careers.
Nair, who built Applause from the ground up in its current avatar, oversaw a slate that spanned Indian originals and international adaptations, threading together a hub-and-spoke business model that partnered with streaming platforms, broadcasters and production houses alike. The results were uneven, as they always are in content, but the ambition was not.
In a post on LinkedIn, Nair was generous to his outgoing patron. He thanked Birla for being an “inspirational boss and a great patron of the arts,” and signed off with a cheerful “Au Revoir” and a promise to remain Applause’s biggest cheerleader. Whether that sentiment survives the next chapter remains to be seen.
No successor has been named. Applause Entertainment did not immediately comment.
Nair built the machine. Now someone else has to run it — and in a streaming market that is simultaneously consolidating and convulsing, that is no small ask.
