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Bates 141 promotes Rajesh Ghatge as CEO, 141 Sercon

Ghatge, who was formerly the executive director and chief operating officer at 141 Sercon, has also been appointed to the Executive Committee (EXCO) of the Bates India Group.

Bates 141 has announced the elevation of Rajesh Ghatge as the chief executive officer (CEO) of 141 Sercon, its specialised below the line division. Ghatge was formerly the executive director and chief operating officer at 141 Sercon.

In his new role, Ghatge will use the agency's expertise for 'intelligent activation' -- solutions which engage consumers across touch points and enable them to experience brands, products and services.

Bates 141 promotes Rajesh Ghatge as CEO, 141 Sercon
In addition, Ghatge has also been appointed to the Executive Committee (EXCO) of the Bates India Group. The mission of the EXCO is to oversee the strategic direction of the agency, as well as to ensure synergies across all the different business units.

The board is headed by Group CEO Sandeep Pathak, and includes India chairman and regional executive creative director Sonal Dabral, regional planning director Dheeraj Sinha, 141 Wallstreet's vice-president Praveen Vadhera, and finance director Dinesh Shetty.

"Ever since Sercon joined the Bates family, it has played a strategic role. Together with our advertising and design units, and out of home and retail offering, we have the full capability to help our clients drive maximum engagement, by getting brands to become the subject of new conversations," says Pathak.

Ghatge had co-founded Sercon in 1996, which was later acquired by Bates in 2007. He played an instrumental role in developing Sercon as a large activation and marketing services agency, with a presence across India and Southeast Asia.

Ghatge has more than 15 years of experience in planning, creative, and execution of regional and local campaigns for leading brands such as Bausch & Lomb, Carlsberg, Castrol, Nokia, Oracle, Shriram Life Insurance, and Sun Microsystems. Under his leadership, the agency has won major local and regional awards, including the International Direct Marketing Awards, Promotional Marketing Awards of Asia, and the Indian Digital Media Awards.

"Ghatge has been the key person to drive Sercon to become one of the top-ranking activation agencies in India and Southeast Asia. He will continue to enhance our specialised skills and solutions for India and regional clients by helping them to better engage consumers, generate demand and influence preference," says Dabral.

"Rapid change is happening constantly all around us. Clients want to understand changes in the consumer's media and shopping habits and the implications for engaging them effectively. I look forward to working closely with the Bates regional and local leadership teams to grow our expertise, so that we can deliver more innovative and effective solutions for our clients, and bring people closer to brands," adds Ghatge.

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