Contract appoints Monojit Ray as Bengaluru head

Ray will help the agency strengthen and expand its southern operations.

Contract Advertising seems to be on an overdrive to strengthen its top management. After beefing up its creative team, the agency has brought on board Monojit Ray to head its Bengaluru office. He will replace Anitha Krishnan, who led the Bengaluru office for the last three years.

Ray, who has been appointed as general manager and vice-president, Contract Bengaluru, joins from Vitamin C Brand Solutions. He will be responsible for recruiting key people and growth of the agency in South India.

Rana Barua, COO, Contract Advertising, says, "Monojit's diverse advertising and marketing experience of over 18 years, complimented by his entrepreneurial experience makes him an ideal choice for heading the Bengaluru office." He says that in addition to managing the growth and meeting expectations set for the Bengaluru branch, Ray will ensure that the Contract footprint expands across in the southern region.

On joining Contract, Ray says, "It's a great opportunity and a challenge to be part of a rejuvenated Contract. The vision that Rana has set for the agency is right up my street. I believe that the Bengaluru office will play an extremely important role in achieving that goal. I am extremely excited to be part of this new journey, and hope that I will be able to make my team as excited about it as we go along."

Ray began his career with Ogilvy & Mather in 1994. He then joined Rediffusion-Y&R in 2001, eventually moving to Everest Brand Solutions. After a brief stint at Radio City as general manager, marketing, Ray shifted to Autocop as group marketing director. Some of the brands he has been associated with include ING Vysya Life Insurance, McDowell's, UB Group, Airtel, Deutsche Software, Philips (when Sachin Tendulkar endorsed the brand) and Tata Teleservices.

Ray also has considerable expertise in cooking and sports. He has been involved with a home cooking outfit called 'Cook on Call' and was cricket coach and consultant for the Bollywood movie, Kai Po Che.