FCB Ulka Group has announced the appointment of Mahendra Bhagat to the position of National Creative Director, FCB Ulka. Bhagat will be based in Bengaluru and will support all FCB Ulka’s South offices, a press release said. Prior to this, he was with JWT Mumbai as Vice-President and Creative Head.
There, he worked on brands such as Kelloggs, Rin, Nakshatra Jewelry and Godrej Appliances amongst others. Before JWT, he worked in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Delhi with SSC & B, Enterprise, Clarion and Lintas, providing creative partnership to brands including Titan, ITC and Bajaj Auto. He has many national and international awards to his credit and has been on the jury of most prestigious advertising festivals.
After over 20 years in advertising, Bhagat took a sabbatical to do art shows across the world. He is a prolific artist and has worked on new art forms such as corporate installations, video and digital art, mixed media and contemporary paintings and sculptures.
Commenting on the appointment, Nitin Karkare, Chief Executive Officer, FCB Ulka said, “I am delighted to have an exceptional talent like Mahendra on board. He is a heady mix of creative, business acumen (he headed an office for a few years) and team-building.”
On his new role, Bhagat said, “ In my second innings I would like to bring in some new practices that I followed while exploring art in its pure form.”
Nipun Mahajan to head sales at Fiat Chrysler
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) India has announced the appointment of Nipun J. Mahajan as the new Head of Sales & Network Development for the company.
Commenting on the appointment, Kevin Flynn, President and Managing Director, FCA India, said, “Nipun comes to us with a strong sales, network and sales planning background. His experience and energy will contribute to FCA’s planned growth and development in India for both Fiat and Jeep businesses.”
Mahajan, an engineer and management post-graduate in Marketing and Finance, comes to FCA with 22 years of diverse experience in retail and corporate sales, network development, sales planning and after-sales in the automotive sector. Prior to joining FCA India he was Director and Head of Sales, Service and Planning at Harley Davidson India. He has also been associated with brands such as Volkswagen, Honda and Porsche.
Dharmesh Shah to head creative at LIQVD ASIA
Digital-driven marketing communications agency LIQVD ASIA has appointed Dharmesh Shah as its National Creative Director. Shah’s previous stint was with FCB Ulka, where he spent close to 14 years with the agency.
Shah joined FCB Ulka, Mumbai in 2002 as a trainee copywriter. He was later promoted to Group Head (Creative) in 2006 and later moved on to FCB Ulka Bangalore as Senior Creative Director.
Arnab Mitra, Managing Director, LIQVD ASIA, said, “Dharmesh has an exceptional and widespread understanding of the creative process and has a genuine yearning to take on larger responsibilities and challenges. ”
Shah said, “ Brands are prioritising their ad spends and realise the immense potential and value digital communications adds to their marketing plans.”
During his 15-year long career, Shah has worked for several brands such as ITC foods (all brands under Sunfeast) and its confectionery business, the entire portfolio of brands under Wipro Consumer Goods, Paragon, Levi’s, Amul, Tata Indicom, Tata Motors, Tata Consultancy Services, Zee, Tata Chemicals, Nerolac Paints, LIC and ICICI Bank.
Shah has won several awards and achievements. He is a trained diamond grader and has learnt the art of jewellery manufacturing.