LG's in-house agency appoints Nitin Makdani as vice-president

Nitin Makdani, ex-business head, consumer electronics, Cheil Communications has moved to LG Ad as vice-president. In his new role as the overall in-charge of the agency, he will be responsible for strengthening the existing verticals, as well as developing new verticals, to establish LG Ad as a full-fledged communications agency.

Confirming the development to afaqs!, June Kim, managing director, LG Ad, says, "We are proud to have Nitin in our team. Now, with a strong team in place, we look forward to achieve new heights."

Talking about his appointment, Makdani says, "The challenge is to strengthen and build the new agency block by block. With leaders like June Kim and creative head, Dipansu Saha, I have the confidence that we will build upon the business."

Makdani is an MBA from Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad and has over 15 years of experience in advertising. He started his career in 1994 with two brief stints at Mudra Communications and Rediffusion Y&R. In 1996, he moved to Everest Integrated Communications, where he spent the next six years handling important clients such as Godfrey Phillips, Honda Scooters, Caltex Lubricants, Fena Detergents and Maxima Watches.

He returned to Mudra for a second stint as group account director in 2002. A year later, he joined Hakuhodo Percept Delhi as client services director, where he worked on various Maruti Suzuki and Suzuki two-wheeler brands. This was followed by another brief stint at JWT as client services director, before he moved to Cheil in 2006. In 2009, Makdani went to the US, where he did a course in advertising and marketing from Pennsylvania University.

For the record, LG Ad, a part of GIIR Advertising Media Communications, was established in 1964 as an in-house advertising agency for the LG Group of Korea. The agency has operations in New York, Beijing and Tokyo. While LG Corporation holds 35 per cent share in GIIR, WPP's stake in the group stands at 20 per cent.