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OOH agency, Navia Asia promotes Gourav Tandon to COO, India
Tandon has been the national director at Navia since April 2009
Gourav Tandon, national director at out of home specialist network, Navia Asia has been promoted to the post of chief operating officer-India. Tandon was in charge of business development since April 2009.
In his new role, Tandon will have full operational responsibility for all four regional offices. He will be supported by Vikas Nowal, head, India-West; Ravi Kant, head, India-North; and Avinash Swamy, head, India-South. He will continue to be based in New Delhi and report to Sanjay Shah, CEO-India at Navia Asia.
He adds that Tandon has stabilised Navia Asia's north India operations over the last year and has built a robust and committed team. "As he takes on the new role, we will work towards introducing new systems, processes, planning frameworks and creative capabilities to our OOH offering," says Shah.
Tandon expresses his delight at the faith the management has reposed in him. "I know it will not be easy to build upon the enviable track record of the company. But I feel that with Shah's guidance and a strong team to support me, it will be possible to lead Navia to a formidable position in the industry."
He tells afaqs! that as an OOH organisation, the company has performed well in what was one of the toughest years, that is, 2009. "It has consistently performed well over the last five years and we hope to take it to the next level now."
He shares that an extensive plan has been laid out for the agency for the next five years and a comprehensive plan is in place for the coming year. The agency currently handles about 40 national clients across categories; going forward, the plan is to retain clients as well as develop new businesses.
Tandon brings to the table over 12 years of experience in the OOH media business. He has worked in all aspects of OOH, which includes printing, signages, acquisition and sale of media, as well as planning and buying.
He began his career in 1997 with GMS Technologies, a digital printing firm. During his tenure there, he worked with OOH agencies such as MOMS, Aaren Initiative and Ogilvy.
Prior to joining Navia, Tandon was with Clear Channel, where he managed the Assets and AOR divisions for the northern region. He has worked on several national brands, including LG, Emaar MGF, Voltas, Michelin Tyres, Yamaha, Sony Ericsson and Panasonic.
For the record, Navia Asia was originally launched as StarSight in 2004 and was renamed as Navia in 2007. It is the specialist brand under which all VivaKi media companies in India -- Starcom Worldwide, MediaVest Worldwide, ZenithOptimedia and Equinox -- offer integrated out-of-home and ambient media solutions. Navia has been operational in India for five years. It has a team of over 150 professionals and a network spanning 32 cities in India.