Carat India restructures senior management

Carat India has undergone some major changes in its senior management. K Subramanian has been brought in as executive director of Deep Blue and SPI. Deep Blue is a brand consultancy division, while SPI is an econometric modelling agency.

Subramanian has moved in from Rediffusion DY&R, where he spent four and a half years as national planning director and senior vice-president. Prior to Rediffusion, he did a stint with McCann-Erickson and O&M. Subu has worked on brands like Tata Sky, Onida, HLL, Eveready, Citibank, Johnson & Johnson, UTI Bank and Franklin Templeton. He received the Atticus certificate in 2004 and 2006 for original thinking in communications.

Subu, who started out in the sales department of Bajaj Electricals, says, “I can never forget the days when I worked as a sales executive for Bajaj Electricals, moving from one place to another, selling appliances. I owe all that I have learnt to those three years in sales.”

PV Narayanamoorthy, regional director, strategic resources, Carat APAC, will now devote time in India to help seamlessly integrate communication planning with traditional media planning and raise the bar on the overall planning product, in addition to his other responsibilities.

Narayanamoorthy is a founder member of Carat Media. Six years ago, he was promoted to look into the APAC business. Before India, he has worked individually on China.

NP Sathyamurthy, who was chief planning officer, will now move to Delhi and function as executive director in charge of the North and East regions and special projects. “I am looking forward to making some difference to our clients’ businesses because it is simply not about lip service, but delivery, too,” points out Sathyamurthy.

Pradeep Iyengar, who was recently made executive vice-president of the West operations, will continue to oversee the critical operations in West and South India.

Sujit D’Souza will move to head Carat Brand Experiences, which will conceptualise and implement all non-media brand engagement programmes, including events, branded content and retail engagement programmes for Carat’s clients.

Mahima Bhanukumar has been appointed senior V-P for the South market. She has worked for agencies such as O&M, JWT and Initiative in the past.

Bhanukumar moves in from her position as vice-president at The Media Edge, the media arm of Rediffusion DY&R. At Carat, she wishes to focus on two big clients, Pantaloons (Indus League and Home Solutions) and Manipal Education.

During her stints with O&M, Rediffusion DY&R, JWT and Initiative, Bhanukumar has worked on brands such as Brooke Bond, Titan Watches, Ford Ikon, Bajaj and Parle. She has also handled the Unilever account out of Jakarta and Taiwan.

“The Ford assignment was quite enriching in terms of exposure and experience,” reveals Bhanukumar.

Shiripad Kulkarni, COO, Carat, Mumbai, put in his papers recently; he is yet to be replaced.

Commenting on the restructuring, Charles Jenarius, Group CEO, Carat Media Service, says, “The purpose behind the restructuring of the management was to adapt the agency to the dynamic media environment. Today, we are prepared to offer distinct services to our clients.”

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