Starcom MediaVest Group India strengthens its senior team

Natasha Kapoor joins agency as VP, Mumbai and Gautam Surath appointed VP, Strategic Planning

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Mumbai, September 16, 2014

Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG) India has bolstered its senior leadership team with the hiring of two key executives.  The agency has appointed Natasha Kapoor as VP, Mumbai and Gautam Surath as VP, Strategic Planning.

In a newly created role, Natasha will be responsible for client service, product delivery and growth for the Mumbai market. Natasha has more than 15 years of media experience. Her last job was at Samsung India, where she handled investment, brand activation and strategy for its media procurement and process audit division. Prior to that, she was a media purchases director at Mediacom where she handled television buying for the Procter & Gamble team. She also has worked on the Unilever business at Fulcrum and Mindshare.

“I believe SMG offers a unique opportunity in the market for staff and clients alike. Nowhere else in India can you find a world class Digital and Data and Analytics practice coupled with great media tools, systems and thinking resulting in a great all round product. It is a wonderfully challenging assignment and I am looking forward to it,” said Natasha.

Gautam Surath also joins the agency as VP, Strategic Planning Director at a national level and will be responsible for strategic planning, training and guiding the digital transition of SMG's clients across its offices. Surath is an SMG veteran having worked for the company from 2003 in both India and China. For the past four years he has been a Business Director at SMG China in Guangzhou, where he was strategy lead on multiple categories of the Procter & Gamble business. His responsibilities included the development of tools and systems to improve productivity and focus on product development. Prior to his posting in China, he spent six years on the P&G planning AOR team in India.

“Quite frankly, having started my career at Starcom and having worked here ever since, moving back to the India office from China was a bit of a no-brainer. Having seen the company evolve with evolving consumer trends, I have no doubt that our vision is the right one. Exposure to the global marketplace has only strengthened my belief in this regard. Exciting times in India and it's great to be back home,” said Surath.

“Natasha and Gautam bring key skillsets to complement and enhance our offering to clients in India and both Malli and I look forward to working with them.” said Hanley King, Chairman, SMG India.

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