Dileep Ashoka returns to McCann Erickson as head of South India ops

He was earlier senior vice-president and general manager at the agency, and had quit in 2011 for personal reasons.

McCann Erickson has announced the appointment of Dileep Ashoka as head of South India operations. He was earlier senior vice-president and general manager at the agency where his scope of work included managing the agency's Bengaluru operations. He had quit the agency in 2011 for personal reasons.

After having moved on from McCann Erickson, Ashoka joined Rishi Valley School as visiting faculty for learning skills. He went on to become the co-founder of Goodhands Eldercare in July 2013, a company that caters to ensuring the well-being of the elderly, a subject close to his heart which he felt needed to be addressed.

Ashoka has worked with Contract Advertising and Ogilvy & Mather in the past. Some of the brands he has worked on include TVS, Britannia, Tata Tea, ITC Foods, Levi's, Titan Eye+, Intel, Metlife Insurance, and Aashirvaad Atta.

Announcing Ashoka's appointment, Prasoon Joshi, chairman, Asia-Pacific (APAC) and CEO, McCann Worldgroup India, says, "I am delighted to have (Dileep) Ashoka back in the McCann family. He is an organisation builder and I am sure he will take our South operations to newer heights."

Partha Sinha, vice-chairman and managing director, McCann Worldgroup shares, "It's great to have Ashoka back in the system. South is strategically important for us and to have someone as reputed as him come back is really significant. I look forward to this office doing great things under his leadership."

Commenting on his appointment, Ashoka says, "It is a matter of great pride and joy for me to return to McCann after being away for a few years from the industry. The sentiment is old, but the task, team and challenges are new. This is a heady mix and I look forward to my new stint."

McCann Erickson is the founding unit of McCann Worldgroup. McCann Worldgroup, part of Interpublic Group, is a global marketing company that claims to have 23,000 employees as part of its workforce operating in more than 120 countries. The units within the McCann umbrella are McCann Erickson (advertising), MRM (digital marketing/relationship management), Momentum (event marketing/promotion), McCann Health (professional/dtc communications), MRM End to End (database marketing and events), Weber Shandwick (public relations), Lodestar UM (media management), MWG TAG (advertising), and CRAFT (global adaptation and production).