L&K's Rana Barua replaces Umesh Shrikhande at Contract Advertising

Barua moves in as COO from Law & Kenneth, where he held the same position.

Contract Advertising India, a JWT group company, has announced the appointment of Rana Barua as chief operating officer. He will fill the position left vacant by Umesh Shrikhande, the agency's former chief executive officer, who moved on from the agency in November 2012 to pursue other interests.

At Contract, his mandate will include partnering the senior leadership team to service the agency's blue chip clients. He will report to Colvyn Harris, chief executive officer, JWT, South Asia.

In a press note, Barua, who brings with him more than 19 years of management experience, says about his move to Contract, "I am excited with the opportunity of being a part of the Contract story. It is a wonderful time for our industry as it continues to evolve so rapidly. Contract is uniquely positioned to take advantage of this and I am confident I will be able to facilitate this process."

Harris and Ravi Deshpande, chairman and chief creative officer, Contract Advertising, each welcome Barua to the team.

Harris says, "Rana has diverse management experience with a proven track record. I am confident Rana, with his experience across advertising and integrated brand solutions, will ensure that Contract continues to be a very successful agency."

"Contract has always been an attractive destination for people who are passionate about creativity and the process of brand building. Rana with his diverse experience will add value to Contract and will help take the journey ahead. We look forward to having him on board," adds Deshpande.

Barua's most recent assignment was at Law & Kenneth, where he joined as chief operating officer in August, 2012. Earlier, Barua worked with Red FM as COO and before that, at Radio City as head of marketing.

Before moving into radio, Barua worked with several leading ad agencies including JWT (then HTA, where it all began in 1993 when he joined as an account executive), Ogilvy India, McCann Erickson, Rediffusion-Y&R and Bates (where he headed the agency's Mumbai branch). After quitting Rediffusion, Barua moved into radio.

He joined Radio City in 2006 as head, South zone (he was responsible for the Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad markets), and was promoted as national marketing head soon after. He also handled the programming mandate at Radio City and was involved with the repositioning of the radio station, before he quit in 2010 as executive vice-president and national head, programming and marketing. Subsequently, he joined Red FM and after spending two years at the radio channel, he quit as chief operating officer to re-enter the world of advertising as COO at L&K.

Through the course of his career, Barua has worked on several leading brands including Renault, eBay, ING Life, Godrej, Reckitt Benckiser, J&J, Gillette Parker, Microsoft, HP, Tata Tea, Zydus Cadila, Levers, Tata AIG, Marico, Virgin Atlantic and ITC, among others.