MAM
Parthasarathy M A bids farewell to WPP after long media journey
MUMBAI: Parthasarathy M A, chief strategy officer for South Asia at GroupM, has announced his retirement, drawing the curtain on a remarkable career that spanned more than three decades across the WPP network.
In a heartfelt note, he shared that the decision follows 17 “lovely years” with WPP Media, where his journey began in 2009 at Mindshare India under the leadership of Gowthaman Gman. His early role as leader of business planning paved the way for a swift climb through the organisation, taking on mandates that ranged from heading Mindshare offices to becoming chief product officer and eventually Mindshare CEO.
Since March 2022, he has led GroupM’s strategy and consulting practice across India and South Asia, collaborating with strategy heads from each GroupM agency. His work spanned everything from nurturing communications planning talent to shaping tools, partnerships and analytics solutions for a wide spectrum of brands.
Before his WPP stint, Parthasarathy spent 14 formative years at HTA and JWT, handling marquee mandates including Ford across 11 Asia-Pacific and African markets.
Looking back, he described his time with WPP as a continuous cycle of learning and discovery, fuelled by inspiring mentors and clients who nudged him to stretch his abilities. As he steps away, he leaves with gratitude and the promise of cheering the network from the sidelines.
After three rewarding decades in advertising and media, he now looks forward to a well-deserved breather.
Brands
Hardik Jhaveri named senior director marketing at Colgate-Palmolive Asean hub
Former Hill’s Pet Nutrition general manager returns to the company to steer marketing for South Asean from Kuala Lumpur
KUALA LUMPUR: Hardik Jhaveri has been appointed senior director marketing for the South Asean hub at Colgate-Palmolive, marking a return to the consumer goods major after a three year stint with Hill’s Pet Nutrition. He will be based in Kuala Lumpur and will lead marketing strategy for the region.
Jhaveri joins the role after serving as general manager at Hill’s Pet Nutrition in Taipei, where he led a cross functional team and oversaw the business with full profit and loss responsibility. The role placed him at the helm of operations in Taiwan, managing growth in what he described as a start-up style environment within a global multinational.
Before that, Jhaveri spent over a decade with Colgate-Palmolive across several marketing and innovation roles in Asia. As associate director innovation for Apac excluding China, based in Hong Kong, he led new product development and launches across multiple markets.
His portfolio ranged from developing specialised oral care products such as a diabetes focused toothpaste for the Indian market to launching premium oral care experiences under the Colgate Total brand in Australia. Alongside innovation, he also worked on launch planning, brand strategy and communications for the company’s oral care portfolio.
Earlier in his Colgate-Palmolive journey, Jhaveri held roles including marketing manager innovation, senior brand manager and brand manager. His work spanned urban and rural markets in Mumbai and customer development responsibilities in the Greater Kolkata Area.
Prior to his long association with Colgate-Palmolive, Jhaveri worked as brand officer home care at Unilever, where he helped drive marketing initiatives for the Rin detergent brand, including nationwide relaunch and on ground activation campaigns.
He began his career in advertising with Bates David Enterprise, working on brands such as IDBI Bank, The Leela Hotels and The Times of India.
Jhaveri holds a post graduate programme in management from the Indian School of Business and has also completed a level 4 diploma in wine from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust.
Announcing the move, Jhaveri said he is excited to begin his new chapter at Colgate-Palmolive’s South Asean hub and thanked colleagues and mentors who supported his journey at Hill’s Pet Nutrition.
