Kamath contradicts The Economic Times report; but questions remain

There was much furore around The Economic Times report yesterday "No Bates here; Kamath to quit". The report said, "The reasons why Mr Kamath is being moved out are also not very clear, though agency sources say it could be due to the lacklustre performance of Bates' India operations."

The Bates brass is not impressed. Least of all Madhukar Kamath, managing director and CEO. Talking to agencyfaqs!, Kamath questioned the criterion used by the leading business paper to term the agency's performance as lacklustre. He pointed out, "With the authorisation and backing of the network, the acquisition of Clarion in July 1999 was undertaken very smoothly. The steps taken thereafter are already part of the turnaround case study at IIM Bangalore. We became Bates India in January 2000. In the three calendar years since then, out of which two have been the toughest for the advertising industry, Bates India has doubled its revenue. In fact, we doubled our bottomline in 2002 over the previous year, 2001."

Talking about the importance of India in the Bates network, Kamath said, "We recently launched 141 Worldwide out of Kolkata. The second largest marketing services company outside of United States, 141 operates out of 91 offices across 57 countries with an impressive list of over 300 large international clients. 141 is going to play a major role in the growth of Bates India Group in the coming years."

Kamath also rubbished the paper's claim "Internationally too, Bates has faced one of the worst years in its history." He explained, "Internationally, Cordiant has completed its restructuring and the Bates Worldwide Group has emerged as a stronger and focused entity. The focus on India and the region has also been strengthened. A key member of the Bates Worldwide Board and operating committee, as well as the area chairman of the Bates Group for Europe, South Asia, Middle East and Africa, Toby Hoare is the Chairman of Bates India. Highlighting perhaps the importance of the Indian operations and recognition of our performance within the network."

But the question that remains unanswered is whether Kamath is ‘moving' after all. Agency insiders say he is, and that it would happen "sooner than later". The theory gaining momentum within the agency is that Kamath is slated to take up an important assignment within the Bates network, but outside of India.

This question will continue to niggle till Kamath decides to set the record straight. © 2003 agencyfaqs!