MAM
Hari Krishnan is new Lowe Lintas president – South
MUMBAI: Lowe Lintas has announced that Hari Krishnan is the new president of its South operations. This appointment comes on the back of GV Krishnan’s recent exit.
To be based out of Bengaluru, his remit includes the agency’s offices in Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad. As the largest creative agency in South region, the portfolio includes over a 100 clients and brands such as Arvind, Britannia, Fastrack, Flipkart, Gold Drop, Hike, ITC Foods, MRF, Mobizz, Paperboat, Sonata, Tanishq, TI Cycles, TVS Motors and many other companies and brands.
Krishnan, currently CEO of MullenLowe’s operations in Sri Lanka is in the process of transitioning into his new role.
He had joined MullenLowe early 2015 from Grey India where he was heading their South operations.
Hari has about 20 years of experience in the advertising and media industry; having spent most of it between Lowe Lintas, JWT, Star TV and Grey.
Commenting on his move, MullenLowe Lintas Group, India Group CEO Joseph George said:“Hari has done an incredible job in Sri Lanka almost transforming our operations there overnight. Going by his track record across the agencies he has worked in, he is just the right person we need to build on the fantastic momentum that the South operations of Lowe Lintas have achieved over the past 3-4 years in terms of creative product and new business acquisition. Both of which, Hari is rabidly passionate about.”
Hari Krishnan too added, “This is a homecoming of sorts for me since my association with Lowe Lintas almost 18 years ago started in the Bengaluru office. The India operations of Lowe Lintas has been on an unbelievable roll the past few years and my mandate is clear. The talent in our 3 offices in the South, especially the creative fire-power under Rajesh Ramaswamy’s leadership is just reassuringly and intimidatingly brilliant. Can’t wait to get started!”
Speaking of succession for MullenLowe Sri Lanka, Joseph George said, “Our Sri Lanka operations are in a sweet spot thanks to all the efforts made in the past 18 months under Hari’s leadership and some fantastic clients. And we are perfectly poised to build on from here; which is why Hari’s replacement for the Sri Lanka CEO’s role is crucial; and so I am very pleased with whom we have found. The announcement will take place in a few days.”
AD Agencies
Abhay Duggal joins JioStar as director of Hindi GEC ad sales
The streaming giant brings in a seasoned revenue hand as the battle for Hindi television advertising heats up
MUMBAI: Abhay Duggal has a new desk, and JioStar has a new weapon. The media and entertainment veteran has joined JioStar as director of entertainment ad sales for Hindi general entertainment channels, adding 17 years of hard-won revenue experience to one of India’s most powerful broadcasting operations.
Duggal is no stranger to big portfolios or bruising markets. Before joining JioStar, he spent a brief stint at Republic World as deputy general manager and north regional head for ad sales. Before that, he put in three years at Enterr10 Television, where he ran the north region for Dangal TV and Dangal 2, two of India’s leading free-to-air Hindi channels. The north alone accounted for more than 50 per cent of total channel revenue on his watch, a number that tends to get attention in any sales meeting.
His longest stint was at Zee Entertainment Enterprises, where he spent over six years rising to associate director of sales. There he commanded the Hindi movies cluster across seven channels, owned more than half of north India’s revenue across flagship properties including Zee TV and &TV, and closed marquee sponsorships across the Indian Premier League, Zee Rishtey Awards and Dance India Dance. He also handled monetisation for the English movies and entertainment cluster and the global news channel WION, a portfolio that would stretch most sales teams twice his size.
Earlier in his career Duggal closed what was then a Rs 3 crore single deal at Reliance Broadcast Network, one of the largest in Indian radio at the time, before that he helped launch and monetise JAINHITS, India’s first HITS-based cable and satellite platform.
His edge, by his own account, lies in marrying data and instinct: translating audience trends, inventory signals and client demands into long-term partnerships built on cost-per-rating-point discipline rather than short-term deal chasing. In a media landscape being reshaped by streaming, fragmented attention and AI-driven advertising, that kind of rigour is increasingly rare and increasingly valuable.
JioStar, which blends the scale of Reliance’s Jio platform with the content firepower of Star, is doubling down on its advertising business at precisely the moment the Hindi GEC market is getting more competitive. Bringing in someone who has spent nearly two decades doing exactly this, across some of India’s most watched channels, is a pointed statement of intent. Duggal has spent his career turning audiences into revenue. JioStar is clearly betting he can do it again, and bigger.
