Economist strengthens India focus, appoints Guha Thakurta associate publisher

The Economist has appointed Suprio Guha Thakurta as associate publisher, based in Mumbai. Guha Thakurta joins here from Lintas Personal, where he was president; he will be responsible for implementing The Economist’s business strategy in India by growing both circulation and advertising sales.

The appointment of Guha Thakurta is the first stage in The Economist’s significant investment plan, which aims to increase circulation from the current 17,000 to 50,000 in the next two years.

Tim Pinnegar, publisher, Asia Pacific, says, “We are delighted to have Suprio on board. India is key to our growth targets in Asia and to our global strategy and we look forward to raising The Economist’s profile in the media landscape and growing our business in this market.”

The Economist will continue to run its advertising sales operation in partnership with ‘Business India’. Ashok Dey and his Economist sales team at ‘Business India’ will report to Guha Thakurta.

On the editorial side, The Economist has two correspondents in India, James Astill, who covers politics, and the newly appointed Simon Cox, who will cover business and finance.

The Economist’s sister company, The Economist Intelligence Unit, a provider of global business analysis, is also expanding its operations in India and has set up an office in Delhi.

The Economist is currently working with Ogilvy and Mindshare in Mumbai to develop an integrated marketing campaign – due to break mid-February – to raise awareness about The Economist brand amongst readers, advertisers and media agencies.