MAM
CEO Priya Jayaraman exits Saatchi & Saatchi Propagate
NEW DELHI: Saatchi & Saatchi Propagate CEO Priya Jayaraman has moved on, the agency said in a statement on Thursday.
Jayaraman was the founder of Propagate (erstwhile Propaganda India), which was later acquired by the Publicis Groupe and merged with L&K Saatchi & Saatchi (LKSS) in 2019 and rechristened Saatchi & Saatchi Propagate.
It's been a decade of a journey of creating a digital agency from inception and seeing it through to becoming a part of a global entity," said Jayaraman. "I feel blessed and humbled to have met such fabulous colleagues who built their careers here, of many clients who trusted their journey with us."
She will be replaced by Charles Victor, who has been elevated to chief operating officer. Victor has been with LKSS for 15 years, working across creative, mainline and digital. In his new role, he will be responsible for driving business growth and strategic direction at the agency while also continuing to serve as the executive director of LKSS. He will report to managing director LKSS Paritosh Srivastava.
“Would like to thank Priya immensely for her contribution and hard work in making SSP into a powerful digital offering with a national footprint with some amazing client partners and talent,” said Srivastava.
Saatchi & Saatchi Propagate has also appointed Sabah Iqbal as SVP and head. She will report to Victor and joins the agency from Digitas, where she was SVP – west and south.
The full-service digital agency boasts a roster of high-profile clients, such as MaxLife Insurance, Max Group, Scripbox, Practo, ESPN CricInfo, Embassy Springs, Revlon, Dailyhunt among others.
Brands
Flipkart completes reverse flip to India ahead of IPO
Walmart-owned e-commerce giant shifts domicile from Singapore to Bengaluru
MUMBAI: Flipkart has completed its restructuring to move its parent company from Singapore back to India, marking a key milestone as the Walmart-owned marketplace prepares for a potential initial public offering on Indian stock exchanges, ET reported, citing people aware of the matter.
The move, often referred to as a “reverse flip”, relocates the company’s legal home to India and aligns its corporate structure more closely with its largest market. It also clears an important regulatory step for Flipkart as it explores listing plans.
As part of the restructuring, several Singapore-based entities have been merged into Flipkart Internet Private Limited, which will now serve as the main holding company for the entire group.
The consolidation brings a number of major businesses directly under the Indian parent company. These include fashion platform Myntra, logistics arm Ekart, travel booking platform Cleartrip, healthcare marketplace Flipkart Health, and fintech venture Super.money.
Under the new structure, global investors including Walmart, Microsoft, SoftBank, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board will hold their stakes directly in the Indian entity rather than through an overseas holding company.
The redomiciliation required approval from the Indian government because Chinese technology company Tencent owns around a 5 to 6 per cent stake in Flipkart. Under Press Note 3, investments from countries sharing a land border with India require prior government clearance.
Flipkart had already secured approval from the National Company Law Tribunal in December. With the latest clearance from the central government, the company has now obtained all the regulatory approvals needed to complete the relocation, ET reported earlier.
Flipkart had originally shifted its holding structure to Singapore in 2011 to tap global capital more easily. However, as India’s capital markets have matured, several start-ups have begun returning their domiciles to the country ahead of public listings. Companies such as Razorpay, Groww, and Meesho have taken similar steps.
The company is now expected to move ahead with its IPO preparations and has begun early discussions with merchant bankers. According to people familiar with the matter, Flipkart could file its draft prospectus later this year, setting the stage for what may become one of the most closely watched listings in India’s e-commerce sector.
Flipkart has been majority-owned by Walmart since 2018, when the US retail giant acquired a 77 per cent stake in the company for $16 billion in one of the largest e-commerce deals globally.
