The media dependent sent out a release today announcing the appointment Ravi Kiran, previously general manager as managing director, Starcom West/South. He will continue to be based in Mumbai and will also oversee the Bangalore operations.

The release adds that Starcom is close to finalizing a candidate for the role of managing director, north who will be based in Delhi. An announcement on this will follow shortly.

Says SMG South East Asia/India CEO D. Sriram: "The restructuring is consistent with Starcom's strategy in the Asia Pacific region in recent times where the Asia Pacific region has been divided into North East Asia and South East Asia/India for greater focus, and builds on our successful experience in restructuring the Starcom China operation into Starcom North China and Starcom South China respectively."

The release has regretted the the departure of managing director Andrey Purushottam, who is leaving to pursue other interests after nearly two years at the agency.

It adds that Andrey turned Starcom around financially in 2002 by adding significant new business and simultaneously restructuring the operations. Some of the new business gains include the Sony group AOR (Sony Electronics, Sony Pictures and Sony Movies), Dr. Morepen, Essar Lotteries, IDBI Principal, LVMH Watches, Benetton etc. He also established a strong and viable presence for Starcom in Delhi, a key market.

"Andrey's vision and leadership have driven a period of tremendous momentum for Starcom and built a strong foundation for the future," says Sriram.

The restructuring has also resulted in Starcom general manager Dr Ravi Moorthy moving to head Starcom South China (to be based in Guangzhou). Dr Moorthy has been with Starcom India for almost three years, during which time he has made significant contributions in the strategic planning and research area.

"His move to Starcom China is a fitting recognition of his world-class talent and is testimony to Starcom's commitment to developing our people and giving them opportunities for growth within the network," the release states.

The release points out that Ravi Kiran has been a key member of the senior management team at Starcom India for more than four years and is well placed to capitalize on the momentum Starcom has built in recent times. Ravi has 13 years experience in the advertising industry, covering both account management and media at Lintas, Initiative Media and Starcom. Ravi, an MBA from FMS Delhi, has experience in Delhi as well as Mumbai.

The new structure is a key step towards powering Starcom's future growth in the country, the release states..

The Publicis Groupe owned Starcom MediaVest Group is one of the Top three media holding groups in the world. Ever since the agency started operating in India under the Starcom name in January 2001, it has crossed several landmarks in business growth and launch of new products.

Starcom India created history in January 2001, when Procter & Gamble (P&G), one of Starcom's largest global clients consolidated its strategic communication planning for all its brands in India with the agency. Until then P&G had not separated strategic planning from the creative services in any other country.

Since then the media specialist has added a host of media-only accounts to its list of clients at regular intervals ICICI, Bayer Consumer Products, Balsara Hygiene, Acer India, Dr. Morepen, Sun Microsystems, LVMH Watches and Jewelry, Essar Group's online lottery venture, Sony India, Sony Pictures and Sony Music.

Other prominent Starcom India Clients are Fiat, Heinz, Parle Bisleri, Raymond Apparels, Toyota, Amtrex Hitachi, VVF, IDBI Principal and Western Union Financial Services. The current media volume handled by Starcom India is to the tune of Rs 400 crore (Rs 4 billion).