Sumita Vaid
Advertising

Contract's Nandu Narasimhan is creative head of Grey, Delhi

Nandu Narasimhan, who was previously creative director at Contract, Delhi, has been appointed as the creative head of Grey Worldwide’s Delhi office

When Viral Pandya and Shalini Dam - both till recently creative directors at Grey Worldwide's Delhi office - moved out of the agency, Grey was forced to reorganise its creative department in the city. As a consequence, all the businesses that the office handled were consolidated under two heads: Anirban Sen, creative director (who had moved from Lowe), and R Murugan, associate creative director. However, such was the scheme of things that the duo, in turn, had to report to an overall creative head of the Delhi office - a position that had been vacant. Now, Nandu Narasimhan (who was previously creative director at Contract Advertising, Delhi) has stepped in to fill that post.

Getting the right person to shoulder the responsibility wasn't an easy task, however, reveals Prathap Suthan, national creative director, Grey Worldwide (India). For Suthan was very particular about the profile of the eligible candidate. "We wanted someone who could inspire team members, and at the same time, someone who had the capability of running the branch… or at least displayed the potential to do so," he says. Fortunately, in Narasimhan, Suthan sees someone who meets all the requirements. "Nandu fits the bill perfectly. In addition, to being creatively loaded, he is a people's person. A very down-to-earth guy who has the ability to motivate the team. In fact, these are the kind of people we need, people who are low on attitude," he says.

Narasimhan describes his role as one that involves working in tandem with Suthan and executing the creative vision. "Pats (as Suthan is called) believes in effective advertising, and in that context, the task is to ensure that the advertising we produce is fresh and, of course, original," he explains. Suthan will, however, remain in charge of all big-ticket clients, and would be involved with the senior creative teams from Delhi and Mumbai in all major campaigns.

For Narasimhan, the way forward is to "put one's head down and work". Narasimhan, incidentally, started his career with Tara Sinha Associates in 1989, as a copywriter. After a year, he was working at Everest Integrated Communications, Delhi, handling brands such as Viva, Maltova and LML Vespa. In 1993, he moved to Lowe (then Lintas), where he worked on Maruti, Xerox, Casablanca and Steel Authority of India (SAIL). The four-year stint at Lowe was followed by a two-year one at TBWAIndia (then TBWA Anthem). Narasimhan then returned to Lowe, where he worked on LG Electronics, Parker Pens and Maruti. Two years on, he moved to Contract, where his portfolio included Dabur and Domino's Pizza among others.

For Grey, this is the third senior-level appointment in creative this year. In mid-January, the agency appointed Raj Kurup (who moved from Lowe) as its creative head in Mumbai, and earlier this month, it roped in Vikram Gaikwad (from Leo Burnett India) to partner Kurup in Mumbai. © 2004 agencyfaqs!

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