SMG strengthens digital team with senior level appointments

Sharon Aneja joins as director, earned innovations and business head, West and Gautham Pingali comes on board as director, digital improvisation.

In an attempt to strengthen its digital operations, SMG Digital, Starcom MediaVest Group's digital arm, has appointed Sharon Aneja as director, earned innovation and business head, West and Gautham Pingali as director, digital improvisation. Aneja will be based in Mumbai, whereas Pingali will work from the Bengaluru office. Both will report to Arnab Mitra, national director, SMG Digital.

Confirming the appointments, Mitra says, "We are thrilled to have Sharon and Gautham on board. While Sharon has huge global exposure and a very solid creative experience in her kitty, Gautham has a sharp inclination towards business development and strategy. I am sure both will immensely contribute to the success of SMG Digital."

Aneja recently shifted to India after working in London for the last 12 years. Prior to joining SMG Digital, she was working with UKTV (the commercial arm of BBC) as the head of digital entertainment, and was primarily responsible for developing a creative and commercially-focused multi-platform vision for the company's core entertainment brands.

She began her career in 1991 with Conde Nast and has since worked with organisations such as Virgin Media, National Geographic and Sky.

Commenting on her move, Aneja says, "While moving to India, I was keen to move to an organisation that had digital as one of its core functions and was future focused. I am thrilled to be a part of SMG Digital as it is an extremely future focused and strategic pillar of SMG."

Pingali joins SMG Digital after a three-year stint with Havas Media as associate director, strategy and business development, where he also managed the businesses in North. Pingali has earlier worked with firms such as AIESEC Hyderabad, Myrmidon Consulting and ABN AMRO Central Enterprise Services. He has a B Tech from Jawaharlal Nehru Technology University, Hyderabad.

Pingali says, "I am thoroughly excited to work with SMG Digital as it has some unique methods, a great team and a very strong vision. With this ability, it is in the forefront of creating a new dimension to the marketing and communication space by leveraging the digital platform."