MAM
McCann wins GM account
MUMBAI: McCann Erickson has won the corporate and digital creative business for all of General Motors‘ brands in India.
Talking to Indiantelevision.com, General Motors India vice-president P Balendran said, “McCann will handle the creative and digital duties of all our brands in India. They will have a dedicated team working on our brands and the work has already started.”
Balendran, however, refused to comment on whether the account size amounted to Rs 1.5 billion.
The pitch process that went on for 2-3 months also involved Leo Burnett and Contract Advertising.
For the first time, General Motors India has decided to award the creative duties of all its brands to a single agency. Until now, the company had two agencies on its roster – Leo Burnett and Wieden+Kennedy.
Henceforth, McCann will now work on the creative business of GM‘s existing brands as well as on the forthcoming launches.
McCann had previously worked on Chevrolet nearly half a decade ago and is one of other global agencies that handle the brand.
The relationship between McCann and GM has been a very flirtatious one.
It all began in 2005, when McCann won the creative duties of GM’s car lines including Chevrolet Optra and new car launches — along with Rediffusion Y&R that took over Tavera and Chevrolet corporate business. Enterprise Nexus was the incumbent agency for Chevrolet Optra.
After spending almost three-and-a-half years in the relationship, GM decided to move its properties — until now with McCann to Wieden + Kennedy (W+K) in September 2009.
Brands
Madhu Soman joins Crestoria Global advisory board role
Former WION, Zee Business executive pivots to mentorship platform
MUMBAI: Madhu Soman, former chief business officer at WION and Zee Business, has joined the board of advisors at Crestoria Global, marking a shift from newsroom leadership to mentorship and education.
Soman, who brings close to three decades of experience across journalism and media management, said the move reflects a growing focus on shaping the next generation through guidance and real-world insight. His career spans leadership roles at organisations including Bloomberg, Thomson Reuters and Reuters, covering markets from India to Asia-Pacific.
“Across 28 years in the news business, one idea kept resurfacing as a meaningful off-ramp, teaching, mentorship, and helping shape the next generation,” said Soman. “Crestoria sits right at that intersection.”
Crestoria Global, which positions itself as a long-term education and career advisory platform, focuses on helping students navigate global opportunities through structured guidance, research-led insights and personalised mentorship. The company said its approach goes beyond university admissions to focus on long-term career positioning.
Soman added that the platform’s philosophy of designing success with intent, rather than leaving it to chance, resonated with his own outlook on impact and influence.
The advisory board brings together professionals from diverse fields, including academia, media and corporate leadership, aimed at offering students a broader perspective on career pathways in an increasingly complex global landscape.
As he steps into this new role, Soman’s move signals a wider trend of seasoned industry leaders turning towards mentorship, where experience is not just shared, but scaled for the next generation.
