MTV HIRES ADVERTISING PRO AS CHANNEL HEAD

MTV Asia has finally managed to find a new head for its India operations after a five-month executive search. A senior ad executive, Alex Kuruvilla, will be taking over as MTV India's managing director and MTV Asia vice-president from 1 April. Kuruvilla will based in Mumbai and his responsibilities include overseeing the channel's programming, production, advertising sales, marketing, finance, network development, business affairs, research, communications and artiste relations.

Until recently Kuruvilla was vice-president Hindustan Thompson Associates (HTA) and he headed advertising for the Unilever business across Central Asia, north Africa and west Asia. He has also worked on the introduction of brands such as Kellogg's, Nestle, Chiclets, Close Up and Pepsi in the Indian market during his stint with HTA.

Kuruvilla believes that heading MTV "is a great opportunity to apply my experience in international brand management with two of my personal passions - music and entertainment. I look forward to being part of the continued growth of MTV India."

MTV India is available in a claimed 10 million homes via cable.