Vinod Thadani promoted as chief digital officer, Mindshare South Asia

Thadani, who has been with GroupM for more than five years, will be responsible for managing the agency's full-service digital offerings.

Mindshare, the flagship media agency of GroupM, has announced the appointment of Vinod Thadani as chief digital officer, South Asia. In his new role, Thadani will be responsible for managing the agency's full-service digital offerings for existing clients as well as bringing in new business to the agency.

With more than 15 years of media experience, he is responsible for setting up the largest mobile practice at GroupM in 2008 and winning media awards in the mobile category across all major award functions including IDMA, Emvies, DMA, IAMAI, Goafest, Campaign India, MMA, Yahoo Big Chair and Festival of Media.

Before moving to Mindshare South Asia, Thadani was CEO of Madhouse India (a joint venture between WPP and Madhouse China) and played a crucial role in setting up India's largest mobile advertising and marketing company. He worked closely with over 100 clients including Intel, Idea, VW, Panasonic, Titan, Britannia, Google, LIC, Siemens, ITC, Flipkart, Nestle, MakeMyTrip, Hungama.com and media conglomerates such as GroupM, OMG, Percept and Ignitee.

Welcoming Thadani to the Mindshare South Asia team, Ravi Rao, leader, South Asia, Mindshare, says, "Vinod has always managed to stay ahead of the curve with his in-depth knowledge and continuous innovation. We are extremely glad to have him on board and are confident he will take Mindshare to greater avenues."

On his move to Mindshare, Thadani says, "With the eminent growth of over 40 per cent in digital advertising, the future of marketing lies in seamless integration of core traditional media with digital and mobile media. Mindshare boasts of an impressive client roster with some of the biggest brands in the world, and I look forward to working with each of them and the team on their digital mandates."

Vinod Thadani is also an empanelled member of the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) and plays a pivotal role in MMA's South Asian operations. He has been a regular speaker and conference chair at several domestic and international industry events, giving his point of view and expert opinions on the role of mobile in the marketing value chain.