Law & Kenneth's Neeraja Kale bids farewell to the agency

Neeraja Kale, senior vice-president and branch head, Law & Kenneth, Mumbai, has decided to call it a day at the agency. She will complete her notice period by the middle of June. She is yet to decide on her next destination, and is open to related career options beyond advertising. Until then, she plans to take a break.

"The primary reason for my move is to pursue something else. No matter what I decide, I don't wish to do a regular servicing role, unless something exciting comes along," says Kale, while confirming her decision to move out of Law & Kenneth.

Kale, who has an overall experience of around 16 years in the marketing and advertising domain, has worked for various agencies and brands. An MBA from Pune University, she started her career in 1995 with O&M Mumbai (now Ogilvy India) as an account executive. Subsequently, she moved to Publicis Zen in 1999, handling its international businesses such as L'Oreal.

Her next move came in 2001, when she moved to the client side and joined L'Oreal as group product manager, Garnier. In mid-2002, she had her second experience of working on the client side when she joined Mattel Toys, and looked after the Barbie brand.

But then, Kale began missing agency life, and decided to head back to advertising, for a stint with McCann Erickson, this time as brand services director, where she stayed for three years, working on brands such as Stayfree, Western Union and Babool, apart from acquiring new businesses.

She had a brief stint at Everest Delhi, (2005-06) and later moved on to McCann Erickson, Bengaluru. She joined Marching Ants in 2007, as head of the corporate division there. Post this, she moved to Law & Kenneth.

Some of the key brands she has worked on in her career include ANZ Grindlays (her first brand), Cadbury's Perk and 5-Star chocolates, TVS, Unilever's Pears and Vaseline, Western Union Money Transfer, and Stayfree.