Lodestar’s Amit Sutha to join JWT as strategic planning director

Amit Sutha, media controller, Lodestar Media, has put in his papers. He will join JWT, Mumbai, as strategic planning director. Sutha will report to Hamsini Shivakumar, vice-president and executive planning director, JWT. This will be Sutha’s second stint at JWT.

Confirming the news to agencyfaqs!, Shivakumar says, “When I bring in people at a senior level, there are three qualities that I seek – an insightful personality, a questioning mind and brand consumer orientation. These qualities enable a person to spot possibilities and think laterally. I found a good combination of all three in Sutha.”

Sutha, who has been with the FCB Ulka Group for over four years, says, “At the FCB Group, I knew everyone quite well. It wasn’t easy for me to leave, but life has to go on.”

Sutha explains, “During my last stint at JWT, I have worked with Shivakumar. I like the way she works. Also, I bought into JWT’s vision. I appreciate the way JWT builds brands.”

“Interestingly, at JWT, I will get the opportunity to work closely with Agnello Dias. Interesting because I have been reporting to his wife, Nandini Dias, at Lodestar Media,” he quips.

Sutha has worked for a number of agencies in his 10-year career. He embarked on his journey with SSC&B Lintas in the client servicing function in 1996. Two years later, he moved to JWT (then HTA), where he spent another two years.

In 2001, he joined the FCB Group, starting with FCB Ulka in the account planning division, and then Cogito Consulting, before finally shifting to Lodestar Media, where he has been for the last nine months.

At the FCB Group, he worked on ITC Foods, Tata Indica, Mahindra & Mahindra’s Scorpio and Bolero and the Zee Network, among others.

Sutha recalls a brand consulting project that he undertook at FCB Ulka for the launch of Zee Sports. He says, “We did a lot of number crunching and research to find out what are the sports, other than cricket, that people like to watch. We even studied international viewership patterns. At the end of it all, we decided to keep the focus on sports such as football and tennis. It was very exhilarating, as the channel was only at the conceptualisation stage then.”

Sutha concludes that media planning was a fruitful learning experience, and being at the FCB Group taught him how to develop technology branding tools.

© 2006 agencyfaqs!