MAM
Sam Ahmed moves to Mumbai as Rediffusion VC and CCO
MUMBAI: WPP‘s communication agency Rediffusion has appointed Sam Ahmed as vice chairman and chief creative officer. He currently lives in Dubai but will now move to Mumbai from where he will operate in his new role at the agency.
Ahmed has spent 14 years at Y & R, Dubai where he was credited with making Y&R the No. 1 agency in Dubai in creative rankings and the 3rd most creative agency in the world. He has worked on brands like Ford, Nestle, Pepsi, P&G, Colgate-Palmolive, Citibank, Harvey Nichols, Skoda, Land Rover, Jaguar, Sony Ericsson, Du Telecom, Zain Telecom, HTC, Apple and World Gold Council. He has also been a consultant for the Prime Minister and Vice President of the United Arab Emirates, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed‘s executive office on several Dubai projects including DIFC and Burj Khalifa.
Rediffusion chairman and managing director Diwan Arun Nanda said, “It is good to have a person of Sam‘s credentials lead the Creative Team at Rediffusion. He is one of the world‘s most awarded creative people. We searched the globe for such a creative talent. Sam is empowered to lead our team to achieve great creative heights with work that helps strengthen our clients‘ brands even further.”
Ahmed said, “One of the reasons I left advertising is that the focus had shifted, it had become more about making money and less about ideas. I have always believed that only great ideas make a lot of money for your clients and your agency and when the Chairman of a legendary agency offers you a challenge to make Rediffusion the Number 1 creative agency in India, you don‘t ask too many questions, except where do I sign? I have some of the most amazing brands at Rediffusion to work with and I am really excited.”
Sam joined the advertising and communications industry at the age of 21. He was 24 when he won his first design award and by the time he turned 28, he was creative director of Y&R, Dubai. He was made partner and regional executive creative director of Y&R Brands for the region by age of 31. In 2009, Sam founded the Creative Club of Dubai.
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.
