MAM
JWT Worldwide announces new management structure for multinational accounts
MUMBAI: JWT Worldwide CEO Bob Jeffrey has announced a new management structure for the company’s support of multinational clients in an effort to strengthen and grow these important relationships.
David Lamb has been named executive VP, director of multinational clients with direct responsibilities over five of the agency’s worldwide clients. He will report to both Jeffrey and London-based JWT Worldwide president Michael Maedel, who share ultimate responsibility over all of JWT’s multinational clients.
Lamb, who has been based in New York as JWT’s worldwide director of account planning for the past four years, will assume responsibility for Unilever Foods, Diageo, Diamond Trading Company, Shell and HSBC. He will also lead the sharing of best practices among JWT’s Global business directors in an effort to forge more integrated, expanded and stronger client relationships.
His tasks will further include the pursuit of new multinational client relationships. Meanwhile, JWT New York co-president Rosemarie Ryan will add to her responsibilities by taking on responsibility for four multinational accounts run out of the New York office. They include Pfizer, Cadbury (Americas), Schick and Kimberly-Clark. Ryan continues to report to Jeffrey.
Jeffrey says, “As one of the world’s largest and most innovative global networks, we continually strive to provide exceptional service to our diverse roster of clients. This is yet another example of JWT pioneering new ways to offer global marketers the highest levels of intelligence and creativity. We are redefining the relevance of global agency networks for the 21st century.”
New York and London are two of JWT’s global centers of excellence for multinational clients. Lamb will be based in London, and will work closely with JWT Worldwide chief creative officer Craig Davis, who is also based there, and JWT UK and Ireland Group CEO Simon Bolton and JWT London executive creative director Nick Bell.
Maedel said, “David Lamb has proven himself to be a strategic resource time and again over his 20-year career at JWT. He has a keen ability to identify growth areas for our clients, and develop spot-on strategies that resonate with the consumer.”
Lamb joined JWT London in 1984 as a graduate trainee. In 1986, he joined JWT Toronto to work on Unilever Personal Care. Three years later, he moved back to the UK, where he became the youngest-ever board director of the London agency.
Brands
Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail reshuffles top deck; Nikhil Modha to take over as CFO
Phased transition sees Marco Agnolin head OWND!, Nikhil Modha lined up as CFO as company readies next growth leg
MUMBAI: Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail is redrawing its leadership map, lining up a new generation of executives across key roles as it prepares for its next phase of growth.
The company has named Suraj Bahirwani as chief executive (designate) of Pantaloons, effective April 1, 2026, with a full transition to the top role slated for October 1, 2026. He will also be designated as senior managerial personnel.
A two-decade veteran of the Aditya Birla Group, Bahirwani joined as a group management trainee in 2002 and has since held a string of leadership roles across retail and manufacturing. His resume spans stints at Aditya Birla Retail, a tenure as chief operating officer of Pantaloons, and most recently, head of global sales at the group’s cellulosic fibres business, where he drove international expansion and strengthened value-added portfolios.
Academically, he holds a PhD from the University of Mumbai, a postgraduate management diploma from SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, and is a chartered accountant. Over the years, he has picked up multiple chairman’s awards, including distinguished achiever, exceptional contributor and accomplished leader.
The transition at Pantaloons will be staged. Incumbent chief executive Sangeeta Tanwani will continue until September 30, 2026, steering the handover before moving into an advisory role to the managing director from October 1, 2026. She is set to retire on January 31, 2027, at which point she will step down as whole-time director and key managerial personnel.
Alongside, the company has brought in Marco Agnolin as chief executive of OWND! and senior managerial personnel, effective April 6, 2026. Agnolin arrives with over three decades of global experience, having held senior roles at Inditex, where he helped expand Zara in Italy, and later served as chief executive of Bershka and Diesel. His track record spans fast fashion, brand turnarounds and youth-focused retail.
On the finance side, Nikhil Modha has been appointed chief financial officer (designate) and senior managerial personnel from April 1, 2026. He will assume full charge as chief financial officer and key managerial personnel from January 1, 2027.
Current chief financial officer Jagdish Bajaj will oversee a phased transition until December 31, 2026, before retiring and stepping down from his roles.
The reshuffle signals a calibrated succession plan rather than a sudden overhaul, with the company staggering exits and appointments to ensure continuity even as it refreshes leadership across verticals.
As Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail juggles legacy brands and new-age formats, the message is clear: steady hands for the present, sharper ones for the future—and no pause in the push for scale.
