Rajiv Sabnis gets additional mandate of DDB Mudra Ahmedabad

The development comes on the heels of the exit of Sudarshan Banerjee, EVP and head, DDB Mudra Ahmedabad. In other news, DDB Mudra Delhi has appointed Mahesh Parab and Talha Bin Mohsin as ECDs.

Rajiv Sabnis, president, DDB Mudra Group has been given the additional mandate to look after DDB Mudra Ahmedabad. This responsibility was handled by Sudarshan Banerjee, director, business development, DDB Mudra Group and executive vice-president and head, DDB Mudra Ahmedabad, until he put in his papers in October.

In February, as a part of the restructuring of the group, Sabnis was made the president for DDB Mudra Group. He was given the responsibility to build both the DDB Mudra and Mudra brands in Mumbai and the western region. He is, in fact, also responsible for initiating integration projects and business for DDB Mudra Max from the existing clients within DDB Mudra and Mudra.

Earlier, Sabnis was president, DDB India. He joined DDB India as president in 2009. Before that, he was executive director, M&C Saatchi.

Sabnis started his career with Everest Advertising. In the eight years with Everest, he was also head of its Chennai operations. Subsequently, he joined Contract Advertising as senior vice-president and office head, Mumbai. After more than 10 years at the agency, he joined Publicis Ambience as chief operating officer. He quit the agency after two years to join M&C Saatchi, where his mandate, to start with, was to partner Jet Airways.

With 26 years of experience in the industry, he has handled sectors such as FMCG, consumer durables, media and entertainment, automobiles and retail.

In another news, DDB Mudra Delhi has appointed Mahesh Parab and Talha Bin Mohsin as executive creative directors. They will be based in Delhi and will report to Sonal Dabral, chairman and chief creative officer, DDB Mudra Group. They will lead the creative teams of all of DDB Mudra Delhi's clients including Wrigley, India Yamaha Motor, Dhara and Dabur, to name a few.

Both Parab and Talha have joined DDB Mudra Group from McCann Erickson, Mumbai where they were creative directors. With more than 13 years of experience, Parab has worked on some of the best known brands such as Vaseline, Hanes, Siemens, Amul, Lakme and Liril.

For Mohsin, this will be his second stint at DDB Mudra Group (formerly Mudra Communications). With a decade of experience in the advertising field, Talha has worked on some world class brands such as Coca-Cola, Schneider Electric, Philips Lighting, National Geographic Channel, Parachute Hair Oil and Kwality Walls, to name a few.

On joining DDB Mudra Group, Parab says, "It's been a glorious period of six years at McCann, where I worked on some of the best brands and also worked with some of the best people in the industry- Prasoon Joshi, Raghu Manish and Rahul Mathew, to name a few. But it's time to try something new. DDB Mudra seems like the right fit in terms of brands, the people and their vision for the place. I love the way Sonal is looking at things and also there is so much to learn from the legend."

Mohsin says, "I'm thrilled to join a team that has a fresh and motivated approach to solving client problems without being encumbered by the challenges of the past, and look forward to a positive and collaborative relationship with our esteemed clients. It's an exciting time for DDB Mudra, and our goal is to create some really brilliant work here. At the same time, I will certainly miss McCann Erickson. I've learnt a lot there, especially from Prasoon Joshi and Rahul Mathew. But I think it's the right time for me to move out of my comfort zone and take on new challenges."

Welcoming the two new members to the creative team, Sonal Dabral, chairman and CCO, DDB Mudra Group, says, "Both Talha and Mahesh have that rare combination of outstanding creativity and strategic thinking. Delhi is an extremely important market and we're very excited to have this formidable team lead our creative force in New Delhi."