MAM
Leo Burnett Worldwide acquires major stake in Solutions Group in Sri Lanka
MUMBAI: Leo Burnett Worldwide announced the acquisition of a majority stake in the Solutions Group, a communications company based in Sri Lanka. As part of the acquisition, Leo Burnett Sri Lanka and Arc Worldwide Sri Lanka will now be fully integrated into Publicis Communications, one of Publicis Groupe’s four Solutions hubs regrouping all creative communications activities.
The Solutions Group was founded in 1999. Since its inception, the company has been headed by communications leader, Ranil de Silva. Today, the company has 81 of the country’s best and brightest professionals whose work has been consistently recognised globally at leading awards shows including Cannes Lions, D&AD, London International, Clio, Adfest, Spikes Asia amongst others. Leo Burnett Sri Lanka’s success across creativity and business has led it to be awarded at Asia-Pacific’s premier Agency of the Year Awards by Campaign Asia three years in a row. This acquisition will complement Leo Burnett’s existing service in the market, delivering best-in-class work and campaigns across the value chain, and creating ideas that truly move people.
“Given the tremendous growth and creative opportunities in Sri Lanka, I am thrilled to see Leo Burnett join forces with the talent and possibility that resides within the Solutions Group,” said Leo Burnett Worldwide CEO Rich Stoddart. Leo Burnett Sri Lanka MD Ranil De Silva further added, “We are thrilled to strengthen our partnership and to continue our efforts to build Leo Burnett’s position as a leading creative force in the country. I am confident that all the stakeholders will benefit greatly from the access to our global footprint.”
As part of this acquisition, the Solutions Group also acquired 100 per cent ownership of First Media Solutions, which represented Starcom Worldwide in Sri Lanka and was the first international media independent brand to enter Sri Lanka. First Media will now be fully integrated into the Publicis Groupe.
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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.
