Cheil India fortifies its digital team with four key hires
Sidharth Shukla joins as Deputy General Manager. Others on board include Mohammad Rehan Ali, Bani Kalra and Smita Khandelwal
BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | July 3, 2015
South Korean marketing and communications agency Cheil has been investing heavily in its capabilities in India and is beefing up its presence in digital.
Recently, they appointed Sanjeev Jasani as the agency's Head of Digital.
Closely following that announcement, Cheil India is making a number of key appointments to further strengthen its digital team.
In Digital Strategy, the agency is appointing Sidharth Shukla as Deputy General Manager, and to bolster its Digital Media team, Cheil is also appointing Mohammad Rehan Ali, Bani Kalra and Smita Khandelwal.
Commenting on these appointments, Sanjeev Jasani said, “Cheil India is already one of the biggest digital teams in the country and we are preparing to grow substantially over the coming months. The core of a great digital marketing agency is its people. We are hungry and keen to attract the best in the industry to do cutting edge work. With these talented additions to our team, we are certain to achieve our ambition of becoming the foremost digital marketing agency in the country.”
Sidharth Shukla joins Cheil from MRM, McCann Worldgroup, where he was National Head - Digital Strategy & Planning. He was with MRM for over six years and has previously worked at Tyroo Media, The Indian Express, TimesJobs.com, MacMillan India and KSA Technopak. He has around 11 years of experience.
Mohammad Rehan Ali, who is joining as Media Director, was previously working with Reprise Media. Prior to Reprise, he worked with agencies such as Solutions Digitas, Madison Media and Webchutney and has over nine years of work experience.
Bani Kalra, who is joining Cheil as Associate Media Director, has over seven years of experience in digital marketing and her work has spanned Web, Mobile, Social, SEM and Content. Prior to Cheil, she was working with Omnicom Group as Media Director. She has also worked with Starcom Worldwide and FCB Ulka with experience on brands like HP, McDonalds, GSK (Horlicks), Danone, Monster, Aircel, Bausch & Lomb, Whirlpool, SC Johnson, etc.
Smita Khandelwal, who is joining as Deputy General Manager of Digital Media, is a Chartered Accountant and a CPA by qualification. She has extensive work experience in India and the US and was previously with Exponential Interactive, a provider of advertising intelligence and digital media solutions to brands across the world. She has also worked with AIG in New York and with South Korean auto firm Solutec in Michigan.