DDB MudraMax rejigs senior management; Mandeep Malhotra moves out

Meanwhile, DDB MudraMax rejigs its senior management structure - Sathyamurthy Namakkal, Aneil Deepak and Sameer Mehta to take on additional responsibilities.

DDB Mudra Group has reshuffled its senior management as Mandeep Malhotra, ex- president, DDB MudraMax, has moved out. Malhotra is currently evaluating his options - one of them is joining Pratap Bose's new venture. He joined the agency in December 2008.

Speaking about his six-year-long stint at DDB MudraMax, Malhotra says, "I've worked with a great set of people at DDB. There were certain challenges involved, but I enjoyed working with some of the best teams."

Meanwhile, as per industry sources, 25 Mudra resources have also joined the yet-to-be-announced venture of Pratap Bose. The new firm has also hired talent from some of the other top agencies.

Bose resigned as chief operating officer of the Omnicom-owned DDB Mudra Group, and chief executive officer of MudraMax, the group's media, OOH, retail and experiential division, in April last year. The exit came after Madhukar Kamath, group chief executive officer and managing director of the DDB Mudra Group, was given a four-year extension at the agency.

As reported yesterday, Sathyamurthy Namakkal, currently executive director, DDB Mudra Group and president, DDB MudraMax Media (including Digital), will now additionally take charge of DDB MudraMax's OOH business. This consolidation bolsters the multi-channel media offerings of the group and will help clients benefit with access to the entire gamut of services in Data Analytics, Media Planning and Buying, across all media touch-points. The agency claims that both the units have grown aggressively over the past three years, and this consolidation is the next step in achieving exponential growth.

Aneil Deepak (popularly known as Andee), currently executive director, DDB Mudra Group and head of ideas, DDB MudraMax, will now take charge of the DDB MudraMax Experiential business as well. Deepak has taken the lead in delivering path-breaking campaigns for clients in the Experiential and Engagement space. Some of these include 'Health Cha Shree Ganesh', 'The Misunderstood Scoreboard' and 'Eye for an Eye'.

Sameer Mehta, head - business and operations, TracyLocke, will take independent charge of the business and will now report directly to Kamath, Group CEO and MD, DDB Mudra Group. Mehta has been instrumental in delivering technology-led solutions for clients to help grow their business in the Field Marketing, Shopper Marketing and Retail space.

Commenting on the restructuring, Kamath says, "Partnering our clients in solving their business challenges and rewarding top performers in the group have always been top priority for us. Realigning the DDB MudraMax business helps us achieve both these objectives. We will also see several young and deserving talent in the group grow into positions of responsibility, aligned to our constant endeavour of building an agile organisation."

A part of Omnicom Group, DDB Mudra Group comprises ten agencies. It operates out of its offices in eight cities and is represented in more than twenty other locations and has more than 1,100 employees.

Its scope of services run the gamut through Advertising, Media Planning & Buying, Digital & New Media, Data-driven Marketing, Health & Lifestyle, OOH, Retail Design and Visual Merchandising, Navigation Solutions, Experiential Marketing (Promotions, Events, Rural), Trade Marketing, Youth Marketing, Localisation Pre-Media Services, Content Creation, Strategy and Design Consultancy.