Shubhodip Pal joins Finland-based Blyk Media as country manager, India

Though Pal was not available for comment, sources close to the development confirm that he would be mainly responsible for setting up the company in India

Putting rumours to rest, Shubhodip Pal, ex-head, consumer marketing, Personal Systems Group (PSG) at Hewlett Packard (HP) has joined Finland-based messaging media company, Blyk as country manager.

Though Pal was not available for comment, sources close to the development confirm that he will be mainly responsible for setting up the company in India. Blyk's Indian headquarters is in Gurgaon. The company also has operations in the Netherlands and the UK.

Blyk is a messaging media company that works with mobile operators and advertisers to connect young people in the age group of 16-24 years with the brands they like. This is done by creating engaging mobile messages (SMSes and MMSes) that include infotainment coupled with exclusive offers and vouchers. With its Blyk media program, the company claims to create an engaged, responsive, and satisfied audience, which can be monetised through mobile advertising.

After completing his MBA in 1996, Pal joined Samsung as senior executive - marketing. He spent more than nine years in the company, and was instrumental in launching, building and managing Samsung brands across markets in India. At the time of quitting Samsung Electronics, he was the senior manager - marketing for audio-visual, home appliances and mobile phone businesses. Another key responsibility at the company was working as a media budget controller.

In 2005, Pal moved to ABN Amro Bank as assistant vice-president and head - sponsorship and communication. He joined HP in 2007, where he headed communication for both HP Pavilion and Compaq, and also looked after consumer marketing (B2C).