MAM
WPP’s Possible Worldwide appoints Kamal Krishna as MD for India
MUMBAI: WPP’s digital agency Possible Worldwide (PWW) India has appointed Kamal Krishna as managing director and Prashant Shivankutty as senior vice-president in a bid to strengthen its India team.
Krishna comes in from e-commerce beStylish.com where he was head marketing and was part of the launch team and led marketing and tech initiatives through two funding series.
Shivankutty’s previous stint was with mobile value added services provider Comviva as associate vice-president.
While Krishna will be responsible for enhancing PWW‘s regional operations along with managing the overall business, Shivankutty has been roped in to manage and upgrade the agency’s technology and creative teams for domestic as well as international digital delivery.
Krishna has more than 15 years of experience. He has in the past led WPP Digital‘s key business initiatives and accounts across Asia and Africa. Pritor to beStylish.com, he was part of the team that established WPP’s digital agency Squad Digital. He has also been involved with the launch of Publicis Groupe‘s Digitas India and has worked on brands such as Hewlett-Packard, General Motors, Unilever, Skoda, Microsoft and Airtel.
Starting his career in 1996, Shivankutty’s first job was with Infovision Group where he spent eight years heading its software development lab and CRM practice. He then shifted to Sapient in early 2004 and five years later to Quasar in 2009. In his last assignment, Shivankutty led global delivery at Comviva, managing clients such as Airtel, Tigo, MTN, BanglaLink, Grameen Phone and Etisalat.
WPP launched Possible Worldwide as a global interactive marketing outfit 2011 by combining its digital agencies Schematic, Bridge Worldwide (US), ZAAZ (US), Blue (Singapore), Quasar (India), Grape (Russia) and Carnation Group (Europe).
Australia Tourism Board, Makemytrip and Cathay Pacific.
Brands
Oyo parent Prism appoints former Sebi chief Ajay Tyagi to Board
Former market regulator joins Prism to strengthen governance for IPO
NEW DELHI: Prism, the parent entity of Oyo, has appointed former Sebi chairman Ajay Tyagi as an independent director, as the hospitality firm gears up for its planned Rs 6,650 crore initial public offering (IPO).
Tyagi, a 1984-batch IAS officer, served as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) from 2017 to 2022. His appointment is aimed at strengthening the company’s governance framework and providing strategic oversight as it moves closer to a public listing.
He joins a high-profile board that already includes several prominent names from global business and policy circles. These include Troy Matthew Alstead, former CFO and group president of Starbucks; Aditya Ghosh, co-founder of Akasa Air; Deepa Malik, paralympic athlete and Padma Shri awardee; William Steve Albrecht, professor of accountancy at Utah State University; and Bejul Somaia, partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Prism founder Ritesh Agarwal, said Tyagi’s experience in capital markets regulation and public-institution stewardship will be critical as the company scales operations and enhances long-term accountability.
The company recently filed preliminary papers with Sebi to raise Rs 6,650 crore through a confidential route. Market sources estimate its valuation will be in the range of $7 billion to $8 billion.
Over the course of his career, Tyagi has held senior roles in the ministry of finance, where he oversaw investment policy and financial-sector reforms. His induction to the Prism board signals a renewed focus on aligning the company’s internal standards with the stringent requirements of public markets as it advances toward its IPO.
