Cheil appoints Vaarunya Bhalla as senior brand manager

Bhalla joins from Penguin Books, and will help develop and strengthen the agency's reputation in the market.

Cheil India has appointed Vaarunya Bhalla as senior brand manager, Cheil. He will be working closely with group president Shiv Sethuraman to effectively and consistently communicate the agency's vision, values and achievements to key external and internal stakeholders.

"I'm hugely excited to be joining Cheil Worldwide as it prepares to evolve into one of the world's most acclaimed creative networks. Cheil India is home to market-leading capabilities, talent and creativity. My job is to leverage and amplify the amazing work being done here and build on our position as one of the Top 5 agencies in the country."

Bhalla comes on board with the specific remit of helping develop and strengthen the agency's reputation in the market. He will be spearheading Cheil's efforts to position itself as one of the most recognised and respected agencies in the country.

Sethuraman says, "We are delighted to welcome Vaarunya to the agency. Cheil India is at an important point in its story. From here on, we are gearing up for the next level of growth. With his understanding of the dynamic environment in which advertising agencies function, as well as his past experience in managing communications for global brands, Vaarunya will help us prepare for this next phase of success."

Most recently, Bhalla worked as senior manager of marketing at Penguin Books India, where he represented renowned authors such as Rajdeep Sardesai, Ramachandra Guha, Sudha Murthy, Amitav Ghosh, Atul Gawande, Devdutt Pattanaik and Shashi Tharoor, as their publicist.

Prior to his last assignment with Penguin, he has worked with FCB+Ulka, Hakuhodo Inc., JP Morgan Chase & Co. and HDFC Bank. As a freelance journalist, he has also contributed pieces to newspapers such as TOI, Mail Today and The Saint (One of the UK's leading independent student newspapers). Bhalla received a Master's in International Business from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

In addition to ATL, Cheil is well-known for its strengths in digital, brand activation and retail marketing. Based in the firm's South West Asia headquarters in Gurgaon, Vaarunya will be liaising with business heads from all across the organisation to ensure that Cheil's people, work and achievements are well-represented and publicised.