MUMBAI: Rediffusion Y&R has promoted Gautam Talwar as its chief strategy officer He takes over as head of the strategic planning function from Arvind Mohan who has decided to move on.
Talwar joined Rediffusion - Y&R in April 2010 as executive vice president--new business development and special projects. He brings to the table more than 14 years of experience in the advertising and entertainment space.
Rediffusion - Y&R president D. Rajappa said, “Gautam has been instrumental in leading the new business mandate at Rediffusion - Y&R. He is a Thinker and a New Media proponent who is well versed in brand strategy across different markets, with cross category experience amongst varied consumer segments."
On his new assignment Talwar said, “Rediffusion - Y&R has always been respected for its commitment to building great brands. With this opportunity I hope to leverage my strategic strengths and build further on this legacy by creating meaningful communication that will deliver on brand objectives and create campaigns that will work for our clients and the agency.”
Prior to joining Rediffusion, Talwar was the creative and business head for Kaleidoscope Entertainment where he set up the mobile content division, developed original concepts and content for television and the mobile space. He was also the executive producer on two full length feature films.
Starting his career with Grey Worldwide, Talwar then moved to Lowe in account management and strategic planning.
At Grey, he worked on cross category brands like Johnson & Johnson, Cadbury Schweppes, Tropicana, Diageo, Emirates Airlines, Akai TV, TataTetley, Elf Lubricants and The Bombay Store.
He spent three years with Lowe & Partners – Middle East and North Africa (Dubai) as the regional account director on the Unilever business. At Lowe Dubai, he worked on Fair & Lovely, Lifebuoy, OMO, Rexona & Axe, Lux Progress, Signal and was the strategic planner for the juice brand in MENA – Almarai juices.
In his five years at Lowe Mumbai, he was the strategic planner on the skin and hair franchise for Unilever, planning on brands such as Fair& Lovely and Clinic franchise. He was also the planning force behind the very successful Balbir Pasha campaign for Population Services International.
