Preet Bedi to join Rediffusion as president

agencyfaqs! News Bureau

MUMBAI

In a surprise move, ex-Lowe, ex-TBWA hand Preet KS Bedi is set to join Rediffusion DY&R. While no official confirmation was available from agency sources, agencyfaqs! has learnt that Bedi will join the agency as president and that too "pretty soon". While Bedi's cell phone remained unanswered most of the last few days, our call to Rediffusion president Ram Sehgal's office yielded a curt "no comments" from his secretary. But "things are more or less certain" it seems.

However, it was not immediately known how this appointment will affect the role of current president Ram Sehgal.

agencyfaqs! readers would recall our story in March where we stated that Bedi was quitting TBWA, where he held the posts of president and chief executive officer (CEO). The move came as a surprise to the industry for the simple reason that Bedi had quit Lowe's Delhi office to take up the TBWA assignment just five months before that. In fact, there was much fanfare at the time of his joining TBWA, with the agency handing him "complete operational authority". Back then, George John had told agencyfaqs! that the reason for appointing Bedi was his "strong reputation for building businesses and brands". It had been added that, "his collaborative, hands-on style and total commitment to client's business is in tune with TBWAAnthem's own working philosophy."

While the exact reasons for the sudden departure from TBWA could not be ascertained, industry buzz indicated that not everyone within the agency appreciated Bedi's style of functioning. But all that is history, really. What now remains to be seen is how Bedi writes the next chapter at Rediffusion.

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