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Arijit Ray joins as CEO, Dentsu Communications

He joins from DDB Mudra where he was President, West

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BestMediaInfo Bureau
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Arijit Ray joins as CEO, Dentsu Communications

Arijit Ray joins as CEO, Dentsu Communications

He joins from DDB Mudra where he was President, West

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | May 21, 2012

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Continuing with the series of senior-level appointments, the Dentsu India Group has appointed Arijit Ray as Chief Executive Officer, Dentsu Communications. He joins Team Dentsu from the DDBMudra Group where he was President, DDB Mudra West.

Ray's key priority will be to enhance and reinforce the agency's competencies and output including overall creative, strategy and services along with strengthening media synergies and driving growth. Over his four-year tenure as Head of DDB Mudra West, he successfully steered the unit into the next orbit of growth by seamlessly harnessing business growth by a combination of focused talent infusion, training and development and a noteworthy step-up in quality of work.

publive-imageWelcoming Ray to Dentsu, Rohit Ohri, Executive Chairman, Dentsu India Group, said, “I am delighted to have Arijit join the leadership team at Dentsu India. Arijit's experience across diverse product categories and in traditional as well as new media is what will help us drive Dentsu's ambitious plans for India. I look forward to working closely with Arijit and Taira Kimura, COO, Dentsu Communications, to create a world-class integrated communications agency in India”.

publive-imageCommented Ken Terasawa, Executive Vice-Chairman, Dentsu India Group, “We are very pleased to have Arijit on board Team Dentsu. Arijit has strong expertise in driving organisational growth by leveraging the strength of teams combined with sharpening client deliveries. I look forward to Arijit leading Dentsu Communications and together with COO Taira Kimura, creating some of the best work for our Indian, Japanese and global clients.”

On his new role, Ray said, “Dentsu in India is the midst of a serious expansion agenda led by Rohit's vision of building a top-notch integrated communication network. The group is well into the phase of building a quality talent and client base and this will only get more impetus in the endeavour to shape enduring client relationships, conceive and execute cutting-edge communication mandates that are not only award worthy but more importantly worthy of recognition in the market and in the consumer's mind, resulting in enhanced desirability and image/market shares.”

On joining Team Dentsu, Ray said, “What is also heartening in being a part of the Dentsu India team at this juncture is the new benchmarks it is creating in the global context. Not many people are aware of Dentsu's leadership position in a large and important market like the US and the strides it has made in the digital space. I look forward to working closely with Rohit and support him in the aggressive plans he has for Dentsu in India.”

Ray's career in advertising began with New Delhi based-based Alfred Allan Advertising in the early 90s from where he moved to Triton Communications, New Delhi. From triton he moved to Rediffusion DY&R where, over a six-and-a-half-year stint, he worked on brands such as Godfrey Philips (Philip Moris), Rothmans, Jaisalmer, Northpole, United Airlines, DS Group, Rajasthan Tourism, Ericsson Mobile Phones, Canon Copiers and Singer sewing machines among others.

He next joined McCann Erickson, Delhi as Associate Account Director in 1999, and led their Nescafe business as head of the team that launched the 'Taste that gets you started out' communication, integrating it seamlessly into Nescafe's then global communication platform 'Open up'. He also managed brands such as Coca-Cola India's Fanta and Kinley Soda, Excelcia Foods, Braun and Duracell. Ray also led the team for the national launch of the Gillette series range in India.

Moving back to Rediffusion DY&R, Delhi, as Account Director in 2000, Ray was Business Head on their Godfrey Philips portfolio. He also led the team to drive the new positioning for Maruti Suzuki's Zen 'Just add Zen to your life'. In 2001, he moved to Rediffusion DYR, Kolkata, as Branch Head. In his two-and-a-half-year stint in Kolkata, he turned around the business from a one-client operation to a stable seven-client operation, with four of Kolkata's top 5 clients, recording one of the best years for the Kolkata operation both in terms of revenue and profit. In 2003, he moved back to Rediffusion DY&R Delhi as General Manager on the AirTel National Business.

In early 2004, Ray joined O&M, Mumbai as Vice-President and Head of their Specialist Auto Practice Group, leading work on brands Bajaj Pulsar and Ceat Tyres. He led the team to launch one of the most successful bikes in the Bajaj portfolio, Discover, where he led the negotiation for Jackie Chan to endorse the brand. Also, as the Global Team Leader for the BP Castrol DEO portfolio, he spearheaded the New Technology Product Concept Global research project with the BP Castrol Worldwide's Marketing & R&D teams.

Moving to Saatchi & Saatchi in 2005 as Business Head, Mumbai Operations, Ray led Logan's India launch for Mahindra Renault. While also heading the Reliance Infocomm portfolio, he developed strong telecom experience, becoming the Knowledge Leader in the category for the agency in the MESA region, successfully driving the strategy development process for the Sony Ericsson pitch in India. In 2008, Ray joined Mudra as Executive VP & Head - Mudra West.

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