Arun Nanda inducted into Young & Rubicam's Global Leadership Council

Diwan Arun Nanda, the recently appointed chairman and managing director of Rediffusion DY&R Brand Communications, and co-chairman of Dentsu Young & Rubicam/Wunderman, Asia-Pacific, is among 28 people chosen from Y&R offices across the world to be part of the Global Leadership Council of Young & Rubicam Advertising. The Global Leadership Council is the outcome of a global exercise by Young & Rubicam Advertising aimed at flattening the organisational structure and developing a system of monitoring the operations of the Y&R network across the world.

The other representatives of the Council come from Y&R offices in New York, North America, London, Milan, Latin America, Spain, Paris, Mexico and Frankfurt. The members of the Global Leadership Council will meet four times a year, with the first meeting slated for early 2003.

Says Mike Dolan, chairman and CEO of Y&R Advertising, "Y&R is flattening its organisational structure around the world, cutting across geography and hierarchy. This is being done to reflect the way we do business today." He continues, "In the past, agencies managed themselves geographically and hierarchically. That's no longer enough. The focus of the Council will be squarely on delivering the best of the agency to clients, wherever they do business. As such, the Council's charter is to cut across all traditional organisational lines on behalf of our clients."

No doubt, Nanda is excited about this development. What makes him happier is the increasing recognition of Indian intellectual capital. "Indians have hit the top in the banking sector, the IT sector and now in advertising," he says. While he is not ready to talk about his specific role in the Y&R governing body, he mentioned that the task for the members would be to formulate policies for the future and set guidelines.

It is apparent, Y&R is banking on The Global Leadership Council to give it proper direction. As Dolan points out, "The Council gives many of its participants a new voice in determining the direction of the agency. This infusion of new blood in our management circle will invigorate us and help us keep our clients front and centre. The members of the Council have proven their ability to work across communication disciplines and they know that putting together diverse talents in a free exchange of ideas makes us stronger collectively and individually." © 2002 agencyfaqs!