Arun Sharma promoted to COO at Initiative

IPG Mediabrands-owned full-service media agency, Initiative, has announced the promotion of Arun Sharma to the role of chief operating officer (COO) for Delhi. Prior to this, as senior partner at Initiative, Sharma played a pivotal role in spearheading one of the top clients of the agency - Reckitt Benckiser. Last year, Sharma was also given the additional mandate of IPG Mediabrand's newly launched unit MAGNA and was named managing director of the division.

Vaishali Verma

Arun Sharma

Vaishali Verma, CEO, Initiative, says in a press release, "We couldn't have found a better person for this position as he is one of our own and has been leading the RB business for the last 4 years with many industry and RB India firsts. Also, Inititiave, as an agency, believes in growing brands through culture, something that Arun has led from the front with creating a successful asset as 'Banega Swachh India' for Dettol."

She adds, "I am delighted that Arun will continue to grow and lead this strategic approach of Initiative, not just to consolidate the agency in Delhi but also to grow the business."

Talking about the new role, Sharma says in a press release, "The Indian media industry is going through very exciting times. Initiative, with its strong brand equity, perfect mix of large and reputed global and local clients, cutting-edge tools and techniques, strong product offerings, and its talented and driven bunch of people, is best poised to serve its client in this dynamic market scenario."

He continues, "In my new dual-roles of COO Initiative, Delhi and MD of Magna, my key priority would be to help our clients grow their business by leveraging our expertise, with strategic use of our tools, and by implementing our global learning and dominant scale in media. I am extremely excited and looking forward to the bigger challenge that I have been given, supported by a great team on the ground."

An alumnus of MICA, Sharma started his career with Madison in 1998 as strategic planning supervisor for the Coke Business. In 1999, he moved to Universal McCann as associate media director and handled businesses like Nestle, L'Oreal and Gillette. In 2003, he had a brief stint with Mediacom following which, Sharma moved to the client's side and joined Bharti Airtel as DGM marketing. Following a stint of 11 years, in 2014, Sharma quit Bharti Airtel as VP marketing - head media (All Business, South Asia) and moved to Initiative as vice president - Reckitt Benckiser business head.