Bates CHI & Partners beefs up Bangalore creative team

Ropes in Mukund Sharma as Executive Creative Director and and Devesh Desai as Senior Creative Director

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | December 26, 2012

Close on the heels of joining hands with CHI Partners to form Bates CHI & Partners, the 'new model' network has roped in two creative directors – Mukund Sharma and Devesh Desai. They will be based in Bangalore and report to Sagar Mahabaleshwarkar. Sharma and Desai will spearhead the creative teams of Bangalore as Executive Creative Director and Senior Creative Director, respectively, and will focus on creating and strategising innovative campaigns reflecting the 'changengage' philosophy.

K Vasantha, General Manager and Bangalore Head, commented, “Our Bangalore office has been one of the strongest performing branches for the agency. We are growing at a rapid pace, gaining good traction overall on the business as well as the creative front. Mukund and Devesh are young, energetic and raring to go with fresh ideas, and I am excited to welcome them onboard as part of the process to strengthen the Bangalore team at Bates CHI & Partners.”

Sharma has close to two decades of experience, including stints at JWT and Ogilvy. He joins Bates from Rediffusion Y&R, where he was creative head of the Bangalore office. At Rediffusion, he was associated with the launch of Arrow New York, Signature and Reliance Jewels, among others. He has worked on a diverse mix of categories including beer (Kingfisher, Foster's), apparels (Levi's, Van Heusen, Arrow) and IT (IBM). Commenting on his new role, Sharma said, “With new roles come new challenges. All I can say at this point is 'watch this space for more.'”

Desai has an experience of around 20 years in advertising. Prior to joining Bates, he was with Hansa Cequity, a data analysis firm. He has had stints at SSCB Lintas, Contract Aadvertising, Everest Brand Solutions, and is most known for his contribution to the anti-smoking poster that saw nominations at Cannes in 2001. Desai commented, “While it is true that the agency, now Bates CHI & Partners, has undergone many changes, it delivers some fantastic and breathtakingly refreshing campaigns, along with a steady rooster of clients. I look forward to some interesting challenges and an everlasting learning experience.”

Commenting on the new hires, Sanjay Thapar, Bates CHI & Partners India, said, “We continue to grow at a good pace with some new appointments, new partnerships and client wins. Mukund and Devesh's appointments are a key step in strengthening our commitment to deliver big and bold creative ideas that solve a client/brand's business problems, using big ideas and processes to put together bespoke multi-disciplined teams to build a nimbler, faster, more modern alternative to the big networks for our clients. Bangalore is an important market for us and given their expertise and well-proven track record, I am confident that both Mukund and Devesh will help take our work and relationships to the next level of creativity.”

Info@BestMediaInfo.com

Info@BestMediaInfo.com