MEC names Vishal Chinchankar as digital leader, India

Chinchankar has more than 15 years of experience; earlier, he led WPP's digital production business, Prodigi.

MEC India, a media and planning agency, has appointed Vishal Chinchankar as digital leader, India. Before joining MEC, he was heading Prodigi, WPP's digital production business. Based in Mumbai, Chinchankar will report to T Gangadhar, managing director, MEC India and Tushar Vyas, head of GroupM Interaction, South Asia.

This is a major hire in a digital position at the company after Ritesh Singh put in his papers at the company in April. Singh had joined MEC India in July, 2012 as national director, MEC Interaction, the digital arm of MEC.

Chinchankar has more than 15 years of experience in digital marketing. During his career, he has had stints at Reliance Group and at Mindshare Interaction, Singapore, where he was responsible for regional accounts including Nike and Samsung. He was also with GroupM Interaction India, where he launched the ICICI Bank IBG services in Canada, UK and Russia.

Speaking about the appointment, Gangadhar says, "Vishal is a heavy hitter in the digital arena and we are very happy to have him helming one of our biggest priorities. In an increasingly connected world, we are trying to move digital closer to the centre of the plate. I am sure Vishal's rich experience will come handy."

Vyas states, "It is great to have Vishal back in GroupM. He has varied experience across the spectrum - publisher, agency and client. Combine this with his understanding of technology and it makes him ideal for this position. I wish him the very best in his new role."

"I am absolutely excited about joining MEC and working with Gangs and Tushar and to take on the challenge of growing the operations. We aim to bring global digital technology practices and integrate them with digital media to effectively execute digital-led marketing initiatives," says Chinchankar.

The agency made quite a few top level hires in the recent past. Roopam Garg, former COO of ZenithOptimedia (ZO) India and head, Performix (ZO's digital arm), joined MEC as the agency's all India head, new business and general manager, MEC North.

In August, MEC India also appointed Ajit Gurnani as head of MEC West. Gurnani was with Mindshare as principal partner, client leadership on the Aditya Birla Group account.

MEC is a media agency whose services include media planning and buying, digital media, mobile, search, performance marketing and social media management, among others. The agency has a global headcount of 4,500 people with domestic and international clients across 84 countries. MEC is a founding partner of GroupM.