Neeraja Kale, COO, Percept/H quits in 3 months

She had joined the agency in September 2011.

Neeraja Kale has quit Percept/H, where she joined as chief operating officer, in September 2011. Her next destination remains unknown.

Confirming the news to afaqs!, Kale says that in her short stint with Percept/H, she worked towards setting up the Mumbai branch of the agency. "I quit as I found Percept/H a cultural misfit for me," says Kale.

Kale, who is currently an independent advertising consultant with some clients, has over 16 years of experience in marketing and communication, having worked in companies such as L'Oreal India, McCann Erickson India, Everest Brand Solutions, Marching Ants Advertising, and Law & Kenneth.

An MBA in Marketing from Pune University, she has offered holistic marketing and communication solutions to brands such as Fun Cinemas, NDTV Imagine, MSN, Britannia, Titan, Red FM, MTV, Asian Paints, and Cadbury India.

Kale started her career in 1995 with O&M Mumbai (now Ogilvy India) as an account executive. In the year 1999, she moved to Publicis Zen where she handled its international businesses such as L'Oreal.

In 2001, she joined L'Oreal as group product manager for the Garnier range of products. In mid-2002, she had her second experience of working on the client side when she joined Mattel Toys, and looked after the Barbie brand.

But, she decided to get back to advertising, and joined McCann Erickson, this time as brand services director. For her three years at McCann Erickson, she worked on brands such as Stayfree, Western Union and Babool, apart from acquiring new businesses.

In 2005-06, she moved to Everest Delhi. After a brief stint with the agency, she moved back to McCann Erickson, Bengaluru.

Kale joined Marching Ants in 2007, as head of the corporate division. Post this, she moved to Law & Kenneth. Prior to joining Percept/H in September, she was senior vice-president and branch head at Law & Kenneth, Mumbai.