MAM
VIP Industries appoints Anindya Dutta as new MD
MUMBAI: Luggage maker VIP Industries has brought on Anindya Dutta as managing director after the resignation of Sudip Ghose as MD. Dutta’s appointment will be effective from 1 February 2021.
In leading VIP Industries, Dutta will be responsible for managing all the business verticals and its operations. He will work alongside Dilip Piramal and Radhika Piramal to drive strategic business growth and efficiencies. The company expects to reinforce its leadership in the industry by expanding its consumer franchise and strengthening the consumer trust it enjoys.
VIP Industries chairman Dilip Piramal said, “I am glad to have Anindya Dutta with us on the board as the MD of the company. We welcome him to our leadership team. I am confident that Anindya’s professional experience and business acumen will help us strengthen our market position and take the organisation to greater heights.”
Dutta brings more than 20 years of leadership experience in the FMCG industry across business verticals and categories. Prior to joining VIP Industries, he was the MD of Havmor Ice Creams (a Lotte Group company).
Being the first MD after its acquisition by the Korean conglomerate, he was not only instrumental in scaling up the business to a national brand but also brought about an organisational transformation towards a professional and streamlined business operations poised for fast paced profitable growth. Before his tenure at Havmor, Dutta was with Britannia Industries for almost 18 years, in roles of increasing impact in sales and distribution, category and brand lifecycle management, channel development, supply chain operations, and leading P&Ls like Britannia’s dairy, breads and international business SBUs.
“I am pleased to be a part of VIP Industries, a market leader in its sector. My top priorities will be to further strengthen the brands with enhanced focused towards innovation and strategic business operations and also expand the business in the International markets. I will ensure my best to continue the legacy built by the founders by keeping the culture and value system intact while growing the company from strength to strength,” said Dutta.
MAM
WPP appoints Guillaume Epstein as its global head of commercial
Publicis veteran to streamline pricing, contracts and client deals globally
LONDON: WPP has created a new global commercial leadership role and appointed Guillaume Epstein to lead it, according to media reports, as the company looks to simplify client deals and strengthen commercial operations.
In his new role as global head of commercial, Epstein is expected to oversee pricing structures, contract frameworks and client negotiations across markets. The move points to WPP’s growing focus on making its commercial approach more streamlined and consistent worldwide.
Epstein joins from Publicis Groupe, where he spent close to four years in senior leadership roles, including global commercial finance director and chief operating officer for Brazil. His work there covered financial strategy, operational efficiency and client profitability across multiple regions.
Prior to that, he held key roles across Asia Pacific within Publicis, including chief commercial officer for Apac and regional client finance director. During this period, he helped build regional hubs, standardise pricing models and manage complex, multi-country client relationships across markets such as Singapore, China and Hong Kong.
He also brings experience from Valtech, adding digital transformation expertise to his commercial skill set.
At Publicis, Epstein played a key role in developing multi-country rate cards, improving financial processes and creating training programmes around negotiation and pricing strategy. His work also focused on unlocking new revenue streams through digital and analytics capabilities.
The newly created role at WPP comes at a time when global agencies are under pressure to offer more transparent, efficient and scalable commercial models to clients.
With Epstein’s appointment, WPP appears to be fine-tuning its commercial engine, aiming to make client partnerships simpler, sharper and more aligned with evolving market needs.
