Fali Vakeel promoted as vice-chairperson, Lowe Lintas India

Fali Vakeel, chief operating officer, Lowe Lintas India, has been promoted as vice-chairperson with immediate effect. He will continue to be based in Mumbai.

Speaking on the appointment, Joseph George, chief executive officer, Lowe Lintas India, says in an official communiqué, "Fali was an obvious and easy choice. His personality, experience and fierce bias for the agency's well-being will now play an even more pivotal role in helping us chart the future of Lowe Lintas."

Vakeel remarks in a press statement, "This agency has been a powerhouse of people, talent, product and ideas for as long as I can remember, and I can't think of a better partnership to work with than Balki and Joe to take it to the next level."

In an exclusive chat with afaqs!, Vakeel, who has spent more than two decades at Lowe Lintas India, recalls the agency's evolution. "What has kept me going in this agency has been the bunch of eclectic and different kinds of people I have worked with over the years like Alyque Padamsee, Prem Mehta, Pranesh Misra, and the most eclectic of them all -- Balki," he says.

Vakeel says that Lowe Lintas has always stood for 'advertising integrity', that is, it has always been about advertising effectiveness at the sales counter, rather than looking hot at a Cannes or a Goafest. "That is why we do well year after year at the Effies," says Vakeel.

For the record, prior to joining Lowe Lintas, Fali worked at JWT London and McCann Worldgroup for more than eight years. He has been with Lowe for more than two decades, having worked at both the Mumbai and Bengaluru offices of the agency. He first started working with both Joseph George and R Balki during his Bengaluru tenure.