MAM
Ravi Kiran promoted to Starcom South Asia CEO; Nayyar, Porwal also elevated
MUMBAI: Starcom Mediavest Group today announced promotions for three key individuals in its Indian operations. With immediate effect, Starcom India West/South MD Ravi Kiran, will move up to CEO of Starcom South Asia – which covers India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal.
Starcom Delhi executive director Anita Nayyar moves up to managing director, India – North. Also Starcom general manager Manish Porwal moves up to executive director, India – West.
In order to preserve the dual management structure which was put in place in February 2003, and has driven some spectacular success, Starcom India will continue to have sub regions reporting in to Kiran.
What this means is that the Bangalore and Chennai office heads will be directly reporting in to Kiran. Additionally, the diversified units — Starcom IP, Starcom Entertainment, Relay and Star Sight — will continue to report directly to Kiran.
“While Starcom currently has operations only in India, there is a lot of interest from potential partners in the region and putting Ravi in charge ensures we have someone to drive our growth across these markets. We expect to have operations in Sri Lanka and Pakistan by early 2006 and Ravi will need to provide a centre for training, systems, tools and other resources out of India. Also, there are opportunities which require a unified perspective across all of our resources in India which Ravi will now be in a position to pursue,” said Starcom Mediavest Group Asia CEO D Sriram.
“I’m particularly pleased that the three individuals we are promoting today have all been with us now for over two years – Ravi in particular for seven. Continuity in senior management allows us the opportunity to grow and develop our structure around the same people who’ve proven their ability to drive success,” added Sriram.
MAM
VML India lands two finalist spots at Cairns Hatchlings 2026
The Mumbai agency is back in Australia with two teams, a UN brief and 24 hours to impress
MUMBAI: VML India is heading to Australia again. The Mumbai-based creative agency has secured two finalist spots at the Cairns Hatchlings 2026 competition, one in the Audio category and one in Design, making it the only Indian agency to have reached the finals in both editions of the contest since its launch in 2025.
Four people will make the trip. Senior copywriter Shilpi Dey and senior art director Raj Thakkar will compete in Audio. Art directors Shabbir and Shruti Negi will go head-to-head with the world’s best in Design. The finals take place at the Cairns Convention Centre from 13th May, culminating in an awards ceremony on 15th May.
The work that got them there is worth examining. For the Audio category, Dey and Thakkar tackled a brief for LIVE LIKE MMAD with a campaign called Inner Voice, Interrupted. Using spatial audio techniques, the campaign recreates the overwhelming self-doubt that descends after a long workday, physically panning negative thoughts left and right before cutting the noise entirely to reveal a confident inner voice. Strategically targeted at commuters via Spotify during evening rush hours, the campaign reframes the hours after work as an opportunity for personal growth and charitable action.
For the Design category, Shabbir and Negi worked on a brief for Canteen’s Bandanna Day, a campaign highlighting how cancer pushes teenagers out of their own defining moments. Using a pixelated design language to create stark contrast between a blurred world of isolation and a focused world of connection, the campaign, titled The Flipside of Cancer, shows teenagers fading into the background of birthdays, skateparks and school proms. As a Canteen bandanna appears, the blur flips and the teenager snaps back into sharp focus.
Kalpesh Patankar, group chief creative officer of VML India, made no attempt to disguise his satisfaction. “We are immensely proud to see our teams consistently excel on the Cairns Hatchlings platform since its inception,” he said. “They have masterfully tackled challenging briefs across diverse categories, demonstrating both layered storytelling and a unique creative approach. This exceptional teamwork is truly inspiring.”
Dey and Thakkar, returning to the finals after last year’s run, were candid about the demands of the audio medium. “It’s one of the most demanding mediums, where we only have a few seconds to capture a listener’s world with sound alone, so absolute clarity is essential,” they said. “The true measure of creative work is its ability to create positive change, and our audio submission was made to help those who need it most while encouraging people to silence the inner voices that hold them back.”
Shabbir and Negi, competing in Design for the first time, described the experience as “a completely different beast.” “We see it as an opportunity to showcase our expertise, raise the bar, and challenge ourselves in new ways, while also learning from creative minds from across the globe,” they said.
In Australia, the four finalists will face a live 24-hour brief from the United Nations before presenting in a live pitch session. Twenty-four hours, one brief, one shot. VML India has been here before. It knows exactly what is at stake.
