Brands
Huawei upgrades on Brand Finance list
MUMBAI: Huawei advanced to become the world’s 40th most valuable brand in 2017, up seven places from its position a year ago, according to the “Global 500 2017 world’s most valuable brands” list. In its annual ranking, British brand valuation firm Brand Finance, the world’s leading brand valuation firm, valued the Huawei brand at US$ 25.23 billion, up 28% from the previous year.
Every year, Brand Finance evaluates thousands of global brands to determine its “Brand Finance Global 500” list of today’s most valuable brands. In 2017, Brand Finance used its Royalty Relief methodology to calculate a theoretical brand royalty rate. The rate estimates the theoretical cost of utilizing a brand, based on the assumption that the brand is not already owned. The evaluation also included a thorough analysis of public awareness, brand loyalty, promotional events, marketing investment, employee satisfaction and corporate reputation. Brand Finance also took into account the brand’s future anticipated income.
In 2016, Huawei boosted its worldwide branding efforts through a series of device launches and global marketing campaigns. Thanks to its innovative, premium flagship P and Mate Series smartphones, which represent Huawei’s industry-leading design, Huawei’s brand made significant global gains last year. In 2016, Huawei shipped over 140 million smartphones globally, which made it the world’s third largest vendor, with a market share of 10%, up 29% from a year ago. Figures indicate that Huawei is growing faster than the industry average. Huawei Consumer Business Group revenue for 2016 topped 178 billion RMB, an increase of 42% from 2015, marking the fifth consecutive year of steady growth.
To continue to raise its brand profile worldwide, Huawei focused on implementing world-class global marketing campaigns that included design, fashion, entertainment and sports. According to an IPSOS survey, Huawei’s global brand recognition rose to 81% in 2016, up from 76% in 2015. The success of Huawei’s branding efforts is best reflected by customer sentiment. Overseas customer consideration and preference improved significantly by 66.7% and 100% respectively, compared to 2015.
Brand Finance isn’t the only organization that has recognized Huawei’s significant brand impact. In fact, multiple global agencies have noted Huawei’s rising star, including WPP’s Millward Brown, BrandZ and Interbrand. Published by WPP’s Millward Brown, BrandZ ranked Huawei at No. 50 on the Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands list, while Interbrand named Huawei No. 72 on its 100 Best Global Brands of 2016. Huawei has featured on both lists for consecutive years, demonstrating Huawei’s continued successes in building an exceptional global brand.
Brands
YES Bank appoints S Anantharaman as chief risk officer
Former Jio Financial Services group chief risk officer takes charge of enterprise-wide risk at the embattled private lender
MUMBAI: YES Bank is not taking chances with risk anymore. The private lender has appointed S Anantharaman as its chief risk officer, a hire that signals the bank’s continued effort to rebuild credibility and tighten the controls that once famously slipped.
Anantharaman arrives from Jio Financial Services, where he served as group chief risk officer and built a risk management architecture spanning lending, payments, insurance broking and asset management from the ground up. Before that, he held the chief risk officer role at Bank of Baroda and senior leadership positions at HDFC Bank and L&T Finance Holdings. Three decades in banking and financial services, in other words, with scars and qualifications to match. He is a chartered accountant and a CFA charterholder.
At YES Bank, his brief is considerable. Anantharaman will oversee the bank’s entire enterprise-wide risk framework, covering credit policy, market risk, operational risk, information security, data governance, analytics, model governance and data privacy. It is, in short, every lever that matters when a bank is trying to prove it has grown up.
YES Bank’s turbulent past needs little rehearsing. What it needs now is exactly what Anantharaman has spent thirty years building: the kind of risk culture that stops problems before they become headlines. The appointment suggests the bank knows it.
