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Jasmin Sohrabji bids farewell to MediaCom

Sohrabji has been with the Grey Global Group (first with Grey and then with MediaCom) for over 16 years

Jasmin Sohrabji, president, MediaCom, South Asia, is on her way out. Sohrabji, who has been with the Grey Global Group for over 16 years, has finally called it quits.

Her next destination is unknown, as she will be taking a break from the world of media for a few months. She is open to trying out new avenues, even beyond the media agency structure. The news of her exit from MediaCom was revealed in an official statement issued to the press yesterday by Nirvik Singh, chairman and president, Grey Global Group, South East Asia.

Singh told agencyfaqs! “Harish Shriyan and Jasmin were functioning as presidents at MediaCom. Shriyan will take charge of Jasmin’s duties at MediaCom as of now. We have no plans to appoint anyone in Jasmin’s place at the moment.”

As per a report published in a daily, she is believed to have been dissatisfied with the recent restructuring at GroupM. The daily reported that Sohrabji was reluctant to report to her peers who have been elevated to senior positions within the GroupM structure. For the record, the WPP Group acquired Grey Global Group (MediaCom’s parent company) last year. But it is now that MediaCom, which was operating on its own so far, will have to function under GroupM, which is WPP’s media arm. In India, this would mean that Sohrabji would have to report to GroupM’s senior management.

When agencyfaqs! sought a clarification from Singh on this matter, he neither denied nor accepted this. Sohrabji, on the other hand, declined to comment on the report.

Sohrabji, along with Harish Shriyan, have played a key role in shaping the way forward for MediaCom. Singh remarks, “Jasmin has contributed enormously in building the equity of both Grey as a brand and MediaCom over her 16 years in this company. She joined us as a media planner, and grew rapidly to lead the team.”

Commenting on her exit, Sohrabji says, “In addition to the professionally satisfying 16-year career at MediaCom and Grey, I will cherish the place I came to consider as my home and the close-knit team which became like a family to me.”

Sohrabji joined Grey in 1990, after a brief association with Contract. In early 1997, she was seconded to head the MediaCom Indonesia operation; from there, she went to MediaCom New York, where she was part of the team that developed MediaCom’s proprietary media optimisation system. In 1999, she returned to MediaCom India to handle the South Asia region. Her mandate was to build the fledgling agency into one of South Asia’s top-ranked media agencies. Sohrabji, during her long innings at the Grey Global Group, won several awards for path-breaking research activities.

Sohrabji is the second senior-level executive to quit MediaCom. Last week, Satyajit Sen, vice-president, MediaCom, had left the agency to join Zenith Optimedia as executive vice-president.

© 2006 agencyfaqs!

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