Santosh Sood quits Lowe; slated to join Rediffusion, Delhi

Santosh Kumar Sood, executive vice-president, Lowe, who had put in his papers last month (September), is slated to join Rediffusion DY&R, Delhi, "at a very senior position" very soon. Sources close to the development inform that Sood's scope of responsibility would stretch far beyond overseeing the Delhi operations of Rediffusion. "It is a fairly large portfolio," says a senior agency official. In a related move, Gautam Dutta, associate vice-president, Lowe, is also slated to join Sood at Rediffusion "sooner than later". Dutta would join Rediffusion in the position of vice-president.

Sood would leave Lowe after 15 years of serving the agency he joined in 1985 right after completing his MBA from IIM, Ahmedabad. However, for three years in the interim, that is between 1992 and 1995, he had quit Lowe to head Saatchi & Saatchi, Delhi. In 1995 he joined back Lowe as general manager. During his stint at Lowe, Sood worked on brands such as LG, Maruti, Nestle and Dabur among on others.

Interestingly, Dutta has worked with Sood for 13 years and has perhaps timed his move to Rediffusion to continue the partnership. What is holding the two back at Lowe, perhaps, is the job of finding suitable replacements. With a few names already on the shortlist, a decision can be expected soon.

In a related development, two more senior executives have quit Lowe's Delhi office. While Mahua Bose, brand services director, Lowe is headed for Publicis, Naresh Sharma, who was also brand services director, is expected to join Mudra. © 2003 agencyfaqs!