Sinha's agenda is to replicate the Indian model at FCB, Asia-Pacific

Shashi Sinha, president, Lodestar, India, is now the regional media director of FCB, Asia-Pacific. The responsibility comes in addition to his Indian portfolio and predictably, Sinha is charged about the new development.

The announcement within FCB Worldwide, whose media arm is Lodestar, was made on the evening of December 17, and Sinha now has the responsibility of 18 countries including India on his shoulders.

His agenda, Sinha says, is to replicate the Indian model, which includes a strong strategy focus, a robust tool kit and a general level of stability within the organisation across the region.

Sinha's elevation comes at a time when Lodestar, India has been riding a new business wave and it is not surprising that the top bosses at FCB have recognised his efforts in this direction.

The post of regional media director at the FCB headquarters in Hong Kong has been vacant for the last few months, and Sinha opted against relocating to Hong Kong, choosing instead to execute his responsibilities as regional media head from Mumbai.

"It will be a challenging assignment,” he says, "but I enjoy being here (in Mumbai).”

In a span of six months, Lodestar has acquired close to 17 new businesses, some of them including breakaway accounts from the Rs 200-crore Tata AOR that began disintegrating in June this year. These include Tata Motors, Indicom, Trent and TCS.

Some other key accounts acquired over the past few months are Shaw Wallace Distilleries, Nick, IDBI and Unitech Builders.

In terms of annualised billings, Lodestar stands at about Rs 650 crore with a growth of about 30 per cent this calendar year.

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