Kaushik Roy on "deputation" to Reliance Infocomm

Over the past week or so, speculation over Kaushik Roy's (executive director & chief creative officer, Mudra Communications) ‘move' to Reliance Infocomm has been gathering momentum in advertising circles. A report in a section of the media had hinted that Roy might be on his way out of Mudra - which he had joined in early 2001 - and the opinion that he was likely to head the marketing operations at Reliance Infocomm has since been gaining in strength.

By itself, the possibility of Roy moving to the other side of the table is not surprising. Many an advertising professional has made a successful crossover to marketing and brand management, and Roy himself has previously been with Philips and Modi Entertainment Network. However, coming close on the heels of his much-publicized appointment as Mudra's CCO, a sudden move to Reliance Infocomm seemed most unlikely. Yet, agencyfaqs! gathered from informal conversations that Roy spends little time at Mudra's Shree Ram Mills office (in Mumbai) these days.

Rather than jump to conclusions, we chose to speak to the men who are in the best position to clarify things. "There is a major initiative on at Reliance Infocomm, and Kaushik is there to see this initiative through," said Madhukar Kamath, managing director & CEO, Mudra Communications. "He has been seconded to handle this initiative on a specific request from Reliance Infocomm." Citing the need for confidentiality in a competitive environment, Kamath does not reveal the nature of this initiative, nor does he proffer any timeframe for its completion. However, he maintains that Roy "continues to be executive director, continues to be chief creative officer and continues to be on Mudra's rolls. As of now, everything else is status quo."

For his part, Roy, responding to an SMS, replied, "I'm on a short-term deputation to manage some critical initiatives at Reliance Infocomm. As for my role in Mudra, it will continue, but maybe on a lower key." Short-term or long-term only time will tell... © 2003 agencyfaqs!