The Hindu Business Line : Shiv Sethuraman is TBWA India CEO

Announcing the appointment, Mr Keith Smith, President –International, TBWA Worldwide, declined to comment on what ownership and management changes the agency could see in the country. (It has been reported in the past that the agency was looking to buy out its Indian stakeholders.) Mr Keith said the TBWA, and he personally had great relations with the Indian Chairman, Mr George John, and saw the new development as evolutionary and not just drastic.

Mr Smith promised that the Indian business would be given the kind of attention the Chinese market got, with TBWA considering new brands and services for India. “We are looking at digital. Our guys here already do digital, so what we have to work out is whether we develop that or bring in a new brand,” Mr Smith told Business Line. The company is also open to acquiring Indian brands and says its always in talks with people.

The immediate task would however be building the TBWA brand in India. And Mr Sethuraman has given himself two years to 30 months to raise the agency’s standing, at least in perception, to amongst the top ten in the country.

Mr Sethuraman, who has led teams in Paris working on accounts such as Nestle and the much talked about Louis Vuitton campaign featuring Gorbachev, will be based out of Mumbai and be joining the agency around June.

It was too premature to comment on hiring and top management change, he said, but added that India had no dearth of talent and the agency, known for its creative excellence and its big idea of “disruption”, would try and attract the best, and take it to the next level. Sending Indian talent to the TBWA’s international network was also part of Mr Sethuraman’s agenda. This was also part of the global “10 by 10” agenda that TBWA had set out for itself to become amongst the top ten brands in the world, added Mr Smith.

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