Return of JC Giri

After a year at STAR TV, heading the regional GEC plan for the channel, Giri returns to Ogilvy

After spending a year at STAR TV India as executive vice-president and general manager, JC Giri will make a comeback to O&M.

He joins the agency as the regional director on the Unilever business for Ogilvy & Mather – Asia Pacific and will report to Sophie Hoffstetter, regional president – Client Growth.

Giri joined STAR TV in July 2008 and spearheaded the launch of two of its regional general entertainment channels (GEC), Star Jalsha (Bengali) and Star Pravah (Marathi). Giri is glad that the channels have made significant progress.

Of his experience at STAR, Giri says, "It was a fantastic year with a great team." What enticed him back to O&M was the opportunity to work across markets. "I don't know if the time is right, but one has to take chances, and this chance of working across markets is great," says Giri.

Giri began his career in advertising with Vantage Advertising, a Chennai-based agency, in 1993. Two years later, he moved to O&M Chennai as a media executive. This was a time when the media function was an integral part of the agency's day to day functioning.

In 1997, he relocated to Mumbai as a senior consultant, looking after Unilever, one of the most significant businesses for the agency.

He took over as the national head for Ogilvy Landscapes, the outdoor specialist unit of Ogilvy, in 2000. In three years, he took over as the country head for Ogilvy Activation (now OgilvyAction), which comprises Ogilvy Live (ground level communication), Ogilvy Outreach (rural communication), Ogilvy Landscapes (outdoor), Ogilvy Sports (sports marketing consultancy, property representation and sales, licensing and merchandising, new media and event management) and Ogilvy Signscapes (professional outdoor media unit, offering complete retail design solutions).

In 2005, he took over as president of the operations of all divisions of the Mumbai branch.

Have news to share? Write to us atnewsteam@afaqs.com