MAM
Digitas India elevates Mark McDonald as head of creative
MUMBAI: Digital agency Digitas from the house of Publicis Groupe has elevated Mark McDonald to a national role as head of creative, India.
Prior to this McDonald was leading the creative team for the agency’s Mumbai office.
In his new role, McDonald will oversee the creative team and output for Digitas across its offices in India including Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad.
He will report to Digitas India executive director Prithviraj Banerjee.
Digitas India CEO Amaresh Godbole says, “Mark knows how to build and steer a creative team truly equipped for the digital age, with capabilities spanning experience, content and campaigns. Most importantly, he has fostered a creative culture of playing well with data, strategy, media and technology teams, which is absolutely crucial for us as a connected agency offering.”
Prithviraj Banerjee mentions, “Mark has attracted and nurtured some great talent, and has been at the helm of several award-winning campaigns for our clients as well as big-ticket new business wins. We have an extremely talented team and with Mark’s leadership, we aim to take our countrywide creative offering to the next level.”
McDonald says, “It’s a huge honour to lead such an incredibly talented team of digitally savvy creatives. Not only are they great people, but they also possess a unique set of skills that span creative, technology, data and media. I know we’ve just scratched the surface of what we can accomplish here, and I look forward to working closely with the teams in taking our creative to the next level.”
Brands
Muthoot FinCorp names Arun Kumar COO & Harjit Singh Takkar chief distribution officer
Leadership hires to boost operations and widen pan-India reach
THIRUVANANTHPURAM: Muthoot FinCorp has strengthened its top deck with the appointment of Arun Kumar B as chief operating officer and Harjit Singh Takkar as chief distribution officer, sharpening its focus on scale, speed and service as it pushes into its next phase of growth.
The flagship financial services arm of the 138-year-old Muthoot Pappachan Group, popularly known as Muthoot Blue, is expanding both muscle and mindset. With more than 3,750 branches nationwide and its digital platform, the Muthoot FinCorp ONE app, the company is betting on tighter execution and wider reach to stay ahead in an increasingly competitive lending market.
Arun Kumar B steps in with nearly two decades of experience cutting across financial services, technology transformation and customer analytics. He previously worked with CreditAccess Grameen, where he led enterprise-wide technology and data strategy initiatives and played a pivotal role during a major merger in the microfinance space. His work spanned integrating operations and products while scaling lending and non-credit offerings such as insurance and pensions.
At Muthoot FinCorp, Arun will steer operational excellence and strategic growth initiatives, aligning teams and processes to deliver sharper efficiency across the business. A gold medallist from Anna University and a postgraduate from IIM Indore, he also holds certifications in design thinking, Blue Ocean Strategy and business analytics.
Harjit Singh Takkar takes on the newly created role of chief distribution officer, reporting directly to the chief executive officer. The position is designed to energise the company’s distribution engine and bring greater governance and agility across its branch network.
Takkar brings over 28 years of retail banking experience, having held senior leadership roles at IndusInd Bank, Bandhan Bank, Yes Bank and ICICI Bank. Known for scaling branch networks and building high-performing teams, he combines distribution expertise with governance depth as a qualified company secretary with a master’s degree in finance and control.
In his new role, Takkar will oversee branch business and distribution channels, with a clear brief to expand reach, lift productivity and reinforce the company’s pan-India presence.
Commenting on the appointments, Muthoot FinCorp Ltd. chief executive officer Shaji Varghese, said the company continues to invest in leadership as it scales. “Our purpose is to improve the financial well-being of the common man. As we grow, strengthening leadership across key functions is important to ensure consistency in execution and customer experience,” he said.
With complementary strengths in operations and distribution now in place, Muthoot FinCorp appears set to move from steady expansion to sharper acceleration, backed by people, process and technology working in concert.
