Allied Media's Shripad Kulkarni joins Vizeum India as MD; S Yesudas steps down

Yesudas will work on special projects within the agency.

Dentsu Aegis Network has announced the appointment of former CEO of Allied Media, Shripad Kulkarni, as the managing director of Vizeum.

He will report to Ashish Bhasin, chairman and CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network, South Asia, and will join the Dentsu Aegis Network India Executive Council.

He replaces S Yesudas who will now focus on content and analytics and special projects within the company. He will continue to report to Bhasin.

Bhasin says, "I am very pleased to welcome Shripad as the MD of Vizeum India. With the wealth of experience that he brings in and the thorough knowledge of the business that he has, I am sure Vizeum India will touch new heights under his leadership."

"I also want to thank Yesudas for the great job that he has done in helping start Vizeum operations in India from the scratch and bringing the agency to the level at which it is today. I have no doubts that he will equally excel in the new opportunities. Shripad now has a great platform to take Vizeum India to the next orbit because our ambitions for Vizeum India are tremendous," he adds.

On his new role, Kulkarni comments, "I am really happy to be leading Vizeum India. The sheer dynamism of Vizeum as a brand excites me. The One P&L philosophy of the Dentsu Aegis Network opens great opportunities for us and will help push Vizeum to the next level."

Kulkarni has more than 25 years of experience across various media specialisations, having worked with agencies such as Carat, Contract, Clarion and O&M. He was the founding CEO of Allied Media, a Percept Group company and serves on the Board of MRUC. An MBA from JBIMS, Kulkarni holds a Master's Degree in Statistics and a Diploma in Operations Research. He is also a well-known trainer and ran a media school prior to joining Allied Media.

For the record, some of the clients that Vizeum handles in India are BMW, Lotus herbals, TI Cycles, MTV, Hindware, Jet Airways, Allied Blenders and Distillers, Luxor and HDFC Bank.