NEW DELHI: MUMBAI: JWT South Asia has announced two major changes in the leadership at the JWT Mindset, Hyderabad. JWT South Asia CEO, Colvyn Harris announced that MD Santha John will be taking up an advisory role as Chairman Emeritus and Ram Gedela will be taking over as a head of JWT Mindset effective from 1 January, 2014.

Santha John is an industry veteran with over 30 years of experience. She established Mindset Advertising. along with Ram Gedela in 1998 that grew into one of the most awarded agencies across Hyderabad’s key sectors. JWT acquired a majority stake in Mindset Advertising in 2011 and was renamed as JWT Mindset.

Before setting up Mindset, John was the senior vice-president at Saatchi & Saatchi, Hyderabad.

Ram Gedela was 31 when he co-founded Mindset. Gedela has a senior management degree from IIM Calcutta. He was formerly group account manager, Saatchi & Saatchi, Delhi; and headed the account management team on prestigious clients such as Panasonic and the DuPont brands.

Announcing this, Colvyn Harris said, “In recognition of her contribution in bringing JWT Mindset to the forefront and making it a leading advertising agency in the South of India, Santha will continue her association with JWT in an advisory role. It’s been a pleasure working with Santha over the years, as she has partnered us comprehensively in the growth of JWT. I would like to thank her for helping us spread our footprint in this region and her contribution to our success.”

JWT Mindset consists of a team of 47 people and offers a full-service range of creative services, strategic planning and execution in digital, print and television. Its major clients include Airtel (AP& Kerala), ADP, Broadridge Financial Solutions, Coromandel International, Dr. Reddy’s Labs, Food Fats & Fertilizers, Gati, HIL, HSBC, Oakridge Group, PHI Seeds, Videocon and LOT Mobiles amongst others.