Richa Arora quits FCB-Ulka; to join Balsara as marketing head

In yet another instance of an ad agency professional making a crossover to the client's side, Richa Arora, vice-president - strategic planning, FCB-Ulka, and head of Cogito Consulting, has resigned from FCB-Ulka to take up the role of head of marketing at Balsara Hygiene Products (BHP). Confirming her move to BHP, Arora informed agencyfaqs! that she will be with Ulka till the end of September.

Attributing reasons for her move to the other side of the table, Arora clarifies that it was not something she had planned for. "However, when the opportunity came, I took it for a few simple reasons," she says. "Balsara seems like an exciting challenge considering it has brands that have tremendous potential of performing in the market. Also, they have a great team in place, and I found I was very comfortable with the people there. I am really looking forward to my stint at Balsara."

For the record, BHP has two divisions - oral care and home care. The brands that fall under the former are flagship toothpaste brand Promise, and herbal toothpaste brands Babool and Meswak, while BHP's household products portfolio comprises Odomos (mosquito repellant), Odopic (dishwashing detergent), Odonil (moth repellant) and SaniFresh (sanitary-ware cleaner).

Despite her eagerness to take charge at BHP, Arora admits that leaving Ulka wasn't an easy decision. Not surprising, considering she has spent 13 of her 16 years in this business with the agency (a tenure at Contract Advertising, and short stints at Mudra Communications and JWT India account for the remaining three years). "Ulka has just been great," she says. "I will miss this place."

Incidentally, apart from heading planning at FCB-Ulka, Arora was also largely responsible for setting up Cogito Consulting (FCB-Ulka's consulting group), what she terms "the highpoint" of her advertising career. "I must say that building Cogito and moving it in a specific direction gave me immense satisfaction," she admits. "Also, the agency today has a 20-strong planning team across the country, and this team is well equipped to help take FCB-Ulka forward." © 2003 agencyfaqs!