MAM
Havas launches branded entertainment unit B6 in India
MUMBAI: Eyeing the opportunities that the Indian entertainment scenario has to offer, Havas Media has launched its Indian operations in the branded entertainment space with B6.
Parallel to the launch, two significant appointments to the senior management have been made. Mozez Singh has been roped in as vice president and Djitisha Bhonsle as business director.
According to an official agency announcement, B6 India has been launched in response to client demand for a full service integrated entertainment network that complements existing services in traditional and digital media and sports marketing.
The new office reinforces Havas Media’s portfolio in India which already includes MPG, Media Contacts and Havas Sports.
In his new role, Singh will lead the strategic development of B6 and will report to MPG India CEO Anita Nayyar. Singh comes to B6 with previous experience that includes the head of production for the Angelina Jolie movie, “A Mighty Heart” – The Daniel Pearl Story – produced by Paramount Studios Plan B (Brad Pitt’s new production company). He also has considerable experience as a writer and producer director in Bollywood.
Bhonsle will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the agency and will also report to Nayyar. Bhonsle has previously worked at Mukta Arts and India Express where she was responsible for managing the screen brand and corporate events.
Speaking about the companies Indian operations, B6 Integrated Entertainment Global director Guy Champnis said, “As B6 continues to expand around the world, we are absolutely delighted to launch in India. Indian film and television is growing at a phenomenal rate and it is vital that B6 continues to offer its advertisers content-driven opportunities. With Mozez and Djitisha, we look forward to developing industry-defining strategies for both local and international clients as entertainment continues to be a crucial part of the communications mix.”
Commenting on her new role Singh comments, “I am delighted with my new role and I look forward to the many challenges it will bring. The close relationship between the corporate and entertainment industries has created new platforms for innovation and forces us, from the outset, to change the way we think. This increases the financial benefit to the consumer and helps to generate even richer content and aids low budget productions.”
Bhonsle said, “The role of integrated content, particularly online, is a key competitive tool in the Indian market. Media fragmentation means content driven messages are now a key part of the overall strategic communications plan. B6 will continue to ensure clients are guaranteed a 360-degree level of service in a climate where the integration of unconventional media is an important point of difference in an increasingly competitive market.”
B6 now spans Europe, North America and Latin America with offices in the UK, US, Spain, Portugal, Mexico, Argentina and Chile.
Brands
Tessolve lands a semiconductor veteran to drive its next big push
Ravi Kumar Chirugudu, who started his career at ISRO and has spent 35 years building chips and companies, joins the Bengaluru-based firm as president and chief operating officer
BENGALURU: Tessolve has never been shy about its ambitions. The Bengaluru-based engineering services firm already counts 18 of the world’s top 20 semiconductor companies among its clients, employs more than 3,500 engineers across 12 countries, and last year pocketed a $150m investment from TPG. Now it has hired the executive it believes can turn those assets into something bigger. Ravi Kumar Chirugudu, a 35-year semiconductor veteran who once built satellite payloads for ISRO and has since scaled engineering organisations across three continents, joins as president and chief operating officer, effective immediately.
THE MAN AND THE MANDATE
The appointment is, by any measure, a serious hire. Ravi Kumar Chirugudu comes to Tessolve after senior leadership stints at HCL Technologies, Altran and Wipro, where he managed large profit-and-loss portfolios and oversaw cross-regional teams. Over the course of his career, he has been instrumental in bringing more than 1,000 new products to market across the high-tech, energy and manufacturing verticals. Before the private sector claimed him, he began his working life as a scientist at the Indian Space Research Organisation, contributing to research and development in charge-coupled device technology and satellite payloads, a foundation that shaped everything that followed.
In his new role, he will lead Tessolve’s global growth strategy: expanding its engineering capabilities, deepening customer relationships and accelerating innovation across semiconductor and high-performance computing domains. The brief is broad, but the context is specific. Tessolve operates in the $550 billion global semiconductor market, and its recent moves, the acquisition of Germany’s Dream Chip Technologies and the TPG funding round, have sharpened both its reach and its expectations.
Srini Chinamilli, co-founder and chief executive of Tessolve, is characteristically direct about why Ravi Kumar Chirugudu was the choice:
“As we scale our global semiconductor and system engineering capabilities, Ravi’s appointment marks an important step forward. As global semiconductor demand continues to accelerate across industries, it is creating significant opportunities across the semiconductor lifecycle, from design, packaging, validation and systems integration. Ravi’s deep knowledge and leadership in this ecosystem brings the right mix of industry expertise, customer connect and execution capability, which will play a key role in strengthening our position as a trusted global engineering partner and reinforcing our market leadership.”
THE NEW ARRIVAL SPEAKS
Ravi Kumar Chirugudu, for his part, frames the move in terms of timing and culture, two factors that veteran executives tend to weigh as heavily as title or compensation:
“I am happy to join Tessolve at a time when the industry is rapidly evolving towards more complex, AI-driven systems. What stands out to me is its strong people-first culture and its commitment to bringing value to its customers. The strength of its global team, combined with its deep expertise in semiconductor innovation and next-generation product engineering, creates a solid foundation to build differentiated, scalable solutions. I look forward to working closely with the team to drive strategic growth and strengthen its role in shaping the global semiconductor ecosystem.”
The reference to AI-driven systems is not incidental. The semiconductor industry is in the midst of a structural reshaping, driven by the insatiable compute demands of artificial intelligence. For engineering services firms like Tessolve, which offers end-to-end capabilities from silicon design to packaged parts and invests in high-performance computing, high-speed interfaces, photonics and 5G, the moment is both an opportunity and a test. The company says it is well positioned to capture the next wave of industry growth. Ravi Kumar Chirugudu is now the person who has to prove it.
He came in from outer space, literally, and spent three decades learning how the semiconductor industry works from the inside out. Now Tessolve is betting that accumulated knowledge can help it cross the next frontier. In the $550 billion global chip market, the gap between ambition and execution is measured in engineering hours and leadership quality. Tessolve has just gone shopping for both.
