MAM
Sun hands global ad initiatives media agency account to Starcom
MUMBAI: Starcom Worldwide has been appointed the lead media agency for global advertising initiatives by Sun Microsystems from 17 September 2003. The unit of Starcom MediaVest Group has replaced creative agency J Walter Thompson.
The Publicis-owned media group has now taken over the account planning and account management services as well as the global creative management brief. Previously, in April 2002, the Chicago based Starcom had ousted San Francisco-based JWT from the media planning and buying account. Later JWT used to perform on the global account, including briefing the few individual creative shops on Sun’s roster.
According to media reports, the Santa Clara-based server and software company Sun Microsystems appointed Starcom because it no longer needed the traditional global agency structure. Starcom is reportedly offered $100 million in spending. Beside, the global account management duties, Starcom will continue to manage the global media assignment it won back in 2002.
Starcom officials say this development “represents a paradigm shift in the way clients now look at media agencies, in that Starcom will now guide Sun’s full communications process and appoint creative agencies on Sun’s behalf.”
MUMBAI: In India’s fast-moving payments race, Visa has just swiped in a new leader. The company has named Suresh Sethi as its India country head, marking a key leadership shift as it sharpens its focus on digital payments growth in the market. Sethi steps into the role following his recent exit from Protean eGov Technologies, where he served as chief executive officer. He succeeds Sandeep Ghosh, who has moved on after more than four years at Visa to pursue an external opportunity.
The appointment comes at a time when Visa is doubling down on its expansion strategy across India and the wider region, deepening partnerships and accelerating adoption in an increasingly competitive digital payments ecosystem.
Sethi brings with him a broad, cross-market perspective shaped by decades of experience across corporate banking, retail financial services, mobile money and large-scale government technology initiatives. He began his career at Citigroup, where he spent 14 years working across India, Africa, South America and the United States, focusing on transaction banking services within the corporate bank.
His appointment signals a blend of institutional experience and market familiarity qualities that could prove critical as Visa navigates a landscape where fintech innovation, regulatory evolution and consumer adoption are all accelerating at once.
As digital payments in India continue to scale rapidly, the leadership change underscores a simple reality, in a market where every tap, scan and swipe counts, who leads the charge can matter just as much as the technology itself.
