Devina Joshi
Advertising

David finally merges with Bates Enterprise; Josy Paul moves on

As a result of the merger, and as some had expected, David's chairman and national creative director, Josy Paul, is on his way out. However, the official communiqué says that Paul is moving on to pursue 'personal interests'

It's official. After lot of hemming and hawing about the merger of David and Bates Enterprise in India, WPP has finally made a formal announcement. The communiqué from the world's largest advertising group says that the merged entity will be known as Bates David Enterprise.

As a result of the merger, and as some had expected would happen, David's chairman and national creative director, Josy Paul, is on his way out. However, the official communiqué says that Paul is moving on to pursue 'personal interests'.

The new entity will be led by Subhash Kamath as chief executive officer, while Mohammed Khan will be the founder chairman. The core philosophy of Bates David Enterprise is founded on 'change', which means it intends to constantly evolve itself to meet new needs emerging from changing consumer behaviour. It will reinvent itself on an ongoing basis.

Piyush Pandey, executive chairman, Ogilvy & Mather (India & South Asia), says, "During a short span of seven years, David created a unique way of finding creative solutions for brands and clients under the leadership of Josy Paul. It is unfortunate that he is moving away, but I am certain that his band of youngsters will take the spirit of David forward into the merged entity."

"The merger makes perfect sense," says Subhash Kamath. "Historically, Ted Bates and David Ogilvy were close friends and had a lot of respect for each other."

This development is in line with WPP's strategy of consolidating its networks in fast-growing key markets such as India. For the record, it was only in 2005 that rmg david was rechristened David, with a fresh outlook and philosophy in place.

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