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Umesh Shrikhande quits Contract Advertising; Ravi Deshpande to stay
Shrikhande's next move is unknown and he says that he has been planning his exit in order to pursue other options since July.
Umesh Shrikhande, CEO, Contract Advertising has put in his papers at the agency. However, contradicting rumour mills, Ravi Deshpande, chairman and chief creative officer, Contract, has confirmed that he will not leave the agency.
When this publication got in touch with Deshpande, he brushed off the news as mischief. "Someone is trying to hurt us. It is all speculative news," he says, referring to the story carried by a business publication. He adds that he had given his denial in writing to the mentioned publication.
On the other hand, it is known that Shrikhande was planning his exit for some time. His next move is unknown but sources inform that he is looking at numerous opportunities. Some also believe that he may start something on his own.
Speaking about his exit, Shrikhande says that this wasn't a sudden decision. "It was in early July that I first spoke to Michael Maedel (president, JWT Asia Pacific) about my keenness to pursue other interests and opportunities."
Shrikhande adds that there was no trigger whatsoever other than his desire to move on and his journey so far has been both educative and joyous. He has spent more than seven years in his recent stint with the agency.
It may be recalled that in 2008, Shrikhande had taken over from Jagdip Bakshi as the CEO of Contract India.
He started off his career with Lintas (now Lowe Lintas & Partners), where he spent six years. He joined Contract for a long spell of nine years and quit the agency to join Euro RSCG. Subsequently, Lemon took shape with Ravi Deshpande, after which he moved back to Contract (in 2005).
Shrikhande has worked closely with various divisions at Contract in the areas of design, direct and digital to enhance traditional advertising. He has also worked on the planning and implementation of brand strategies for a variety of clients and brands such as HSBC, Cadbury, Asian Paints, Shopper's Stop, Philips, VIP, Bajaj Auto, BBC World, Aegon-Religare, Tata Indicom, Disney, Zoom, DNA and Grasim.