MAM
Publicis Groupe creates new entity ‘Publicis In-Motion’
MUMBAI: Publicis Groupe India has created ‘Publicis In-Motion’, its specialist entity focusing on building brand salience and creating experiences and a strong engagement with consumers, while they are quite literally, on the move. The entity will see the coming together of Arc Worldwide, Solutions and Ecosys OOH and will be powered by data and tech-enabled insights to deliver execution at scale across the Groupe.
Praveen Kumar Vadhera has been onboarded in the newly created role of Head of Publicis In-Motion, South Asia. In this role, all the teams in Arc Worldwide, Solutions and Ecosys will report into him and he will work closely with Sejal Shah, Head of Publicis Media Exchange and the Executive Sponsor on Ecosys.
Vadhera comes with over 25 years of experience across brand building, out-of-home, technology, shopper marketing and experiential brand intervention, and has held leadership positions across key networks including WPP and Omnicom. He joins Publicis Groupe from Interspace Solutions, where he was the CEO. During his stint at Interspace, an entrepreneurial venture, he was deep-rooted in delivering bespoke media agnostic business solutions for brands.
Prior to joining Interspace, Vadhera spent 14 years with the WPP group from 2001 as Country Head RMG David with a mandate to expand the Ogilvy Group OOH offering moving onto Bates Chi and Partners' 141 Wall Street heading the Retail, Shopper, Experiential & OOH function. He was instrumental in driving the growth of 141 Wall Street to become the largest OOH specialist agency in the country.
Over the years, Vadhera has worked with renowned brands such as P&G, Colgate Palmolive, Vodafone, Reebok, Fiat, Samsung, Unilever, Star Network, Idea Cellular, GSK, amongst others.
Vadhera is a passionate and committed theatre and cultural activist and also an ardent fan of all things design and sciences (including technology).
Says Sejal Shah, “With fragmenting consumer attention and reducing attention spans, there is a growing need to connect with consumers at every touch-point in an engaging manner. With strength of 150 people and capabilities spanning across activation, shopper marketing, retail design and strategy, OOH and ambient marketing, without doubt Publicis In-Motion will provide our clients unmatched ambient and experiential capabilities. And Praveen brings in excellent and demonstrated credentials across this entire gamut of services. Delighted to have him on board”
Publicis Groupe, South Asia CEO Anupriya Acharya says, “ Publicis In-Motion is an effort to make our Power of One offerings even more impactful and substantive for our clients where they can leverage all experiential capabilities at one go. We have highly specialized teams under each capability but the synergized structure will make it simpler and speedier for the clients to leverage it. We expect much momentum in this space as clients move to create more impactful engagements with their customers on the ground.”
Vadhera says “Am very delighted to join Publicis Groupe at a time when there is so much momentum and an amazing diversity of skills across creative, tech and media. I look forward to working closely with the different teams across the Groupe and leveraging their expertise and creating synergies across domains in strengthening current and creating new offerings in Publicis In-Motion.”
Brands
Jubilant FoodWorks faces Rs 47.5 crore GST demand, plans appeal
Tax authorities flag alleged misclassification of restaurant services
MUMBAI:Â Jubilant FoodWorks Limited has landed in a tax tussle after receiving a GST demand of Rs 47.5 crore from the office of the additional commissioner of CGST and central excise in Thane, Maharashtra.
The order, issued under the provisions of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, relates to an alleged incorrect classification of certain services under the category of restaurant services. According to the tax authorities, this classification resulted in a short payment of goods and services tax for the period between the financial years 2019-20 and 2021-22.
The demand includes Rs 47.5 crore in GST along with an equal amount as penalty, in addition to applicable interest. The order was received by the company on March 13, 2026.
In a regulatory filing to the BSE Limited and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited, the company said it disagrees with the order and believes its arguments were not adequately considered.
The company is preparing to challenge the decision and plans to file an appeal. It added that once the redressal process is complete, the demand is likely to be dropped.
Despite the sizeable figure attached to the notice, the company said it does not expect any material impact on its financials, operations or other activities.
The disclosure was signed by Suman Hegde, EVP and chief financial officer, who confirmed that the company received the order at 19:06 IST on March 13 and has already initiated steps to contest it.
The development places the quick service restaurant major in the middle of a tax debate that could hinge on how certain restaurant-linked services are classified under GST rules. For now, the company appears ready to take the matter from the tax office to the appeals desk.
