MAM
McCann-Erickson is Cadbury Schweppes’ AOR for Dentyne
NEW JERSEY: Cadbury Schweppes has selected McCann-Erickson Worldwide Advertising as its global advertising agency for Dentyne chewing gum and certain other non-chocolate confectionery brands. The total billings exceed $60 million.
An official release informs that the Dentyne franchise includes Dentyne Classic, Dentyne Ice, and the recently launched Dentyne Fire, a spicy cinnamon gum. Other brands awarded to McCann include Clorets, Certs, Max Air (Mexico), Deemints (Latin America), and the Dandy chewing gum brands in Europe — STIMOROL, V6 and DIROL. These brands came together in one company earlier this year, when Cadbury Schweppes acquired the Adams confectionery business from Pfizer the release states.
Cadbury Schweppes’ group director of Adams Brands and Gum Rob Desatnick said, “We selected McCann Erickson on the strength of their global capabilities, excellent creative work and outstanding consumer insights.We believe our interests are best served by maintaining partnerships with two global ad agencies. We are very pleased with our continuing relationship with J. Walter Thompson Company, which will remain unchanged.” JWT is the agency of record (AOR) for Halls cough drops, Trident gum and the Bubba brands. These are Bubblicious, Bubbaloo and BubbaXtreme.
The previous agency for Dentyne and many of the other brands awarded to McCann was Bates Worldwide. Its former parent company, Cordiant Communications Group, was recently acquired by the WPP Group. WPP also owns JWT.
Brands
Muthoot FinCorp names Arun Kumar COO & Harjit Singh Takkar chief distribution officer
Leadership hires to boost operations and widen pan-India reach
THIRUVANANTHPURAM: Muthoot FinCorp has strengthened its top deck with the appointment of Arun Kumar B as chief operating officer and Harjit Singh Takkar as chief distribution officer, sharpening its focus on scale, speed and service as it pushes into its next phase of growth.
The flagship financial services arm of the 138-year-old Muthoot Pappachan Group, popularly known as Muthoot Blue, is expanding both muscle and mindset. With more than 3,750 branches nationwide and its digital platform, the Muthoot FinCorp ONE app, the company is betting on tighter execution and wider reach to stay ahead in an increasingly competitive lending market.
Arun Kumar B steps in with nearly two decades of experience cutting across financial services, technology transformation and customer analytics. He previously worked with CreditAccess Grameen, where he led enterprise-wide technology and data strategy initiatives and played a pivotal role during a major merger in the microfinance space. His work spanned integrating operations and products while scaling lending and non-credit offerings such as insurance and pensions.
At Muthoot FinCorp, Arun will steer operational excellence and strategic growth initiatives, aligning teams and processes to deliver sharper efficiency across the business. A gold medallist from Anna University and a postgraduate from IIM Indore, he also holds certifications in design thinking, Blue Ocean Strategy and business analytics.
Harjit Singh Takkar takes on the newly created role of chief distribution officer, reporting directly to the chief executive officer. The position is designed to energise the company’s distribution engine and bring greater governance and agility across its branch network.
Takkar brings over 28 years of retail banking experience, having held senior leadership roles at IndusInd Bank, Bandhan Bank, Yes Bank and ICICI Bank. Known for scaling branch networks and building high-performing teams, he combines distribution expertise with governance depth as a qualified company secretary with a master’s degree in finance and control.
In his new role, Takkar will oversee branch business and distribution channels, with a clear brief to expand reach, lift productivity and reinforce the company’s pan-India presence.
Commenting on the appointments, Muthoot FinCorp Ltd. chief executive officer Shaji Varghese, said the company continues to invest in leadership as it scales. “Our purpose is to improve the financial well-being of the common man. As we grow, strengthening leadership across key functions is important to ensure consistency in execution and customer experience,” he said.
With complementary strengths in operations and distribution now in place, Muthoot FinCorp appears set to move from steady expansion to sharper acceleration, backed by people, process and technology working in concert.
