MUMBAI: Percept H, a joint venture between Percept and Japanese firm Hakuhudo, has roped in former SSC&B Lintas president Ajay Chandwani as chief executive officer of the company.
The vacancy was created after CEO Rajesh Pant was moved to head Posterscope MENA (Middle East and North Africa), as part of Percept's plans to spread its footprint across the globe. Percept H offers services like account management, account planning, creative and market research and has a wide range of clients including Bharti, Siyaram, Bajaj Tempo and Sahara.
Chandwani was responsible at SSC&B for gaining brands like Mercedez Benz, Hexit, Philips, Parachute, Kissan, Walls Max candy, Green label whisky, Hero Group, Vardhman Group and Moser Baer.
Assisting Chandwani is Prabhakar Mundukur who has joined as chief operating officer. He was earlier with J Walter Thompson where he worked as business development director.
Pant, who would have been based out of Dubai, was given the responsibility of setting up a whole new division in Posterscope MENA, but has decided instead to explore new opportunities.
Percept is now scouting for a CEO of Posterscope MENA to replace Pant. The Indian operations of Posterscope started in 2003 and the company quickly rose to become the top five outdoor agencies in the country. It has clients like Airtel, Pilsbury, Pantaloon, Sahara India and Afro Asian Games.
Pursuing its global plans, Percept Group's celebrity management and event marketing arm Percept D'Mark (PDM) recently set up its international operations out of Dubai. Sanjay Lal, who was founder and executive director of PDM India, has moved to Dubai as managing director and CEO of PDM International. Preeta Singh, earlier with O&M, has been put in charge of PDM India.
Pant, meanwhile, has joined Mirza Tanners Ltd (makers of the well known footwear brand Red Tape) as director for a new division that the company has launched. Pant has been appointed as director Red Tape Asia, his ambit being to expand the Red Tape product line beyond just high-end footwear into a fashion brand. Pant will also have the responsibility of setting up a retail chain of Red Tape "lifestyle" stores across Asia and the Middle East (India included of course).
