N Krishnan, shareholder, COO and CFO, TBWA India, has decided to end his tenure at the agency. Niraj Dadoo has been roped in to take his place at the agency as COO and CFO. He will report to Shiv Sethuraman, CEO, TBWA India Group and Darren Jackson, CFO, TBWA Asia Pacific.
It may be recalled that TBWA Worldwide acquired complete stake in TBWA Anthem, after which the local shareholders George John and Kurien Matthews moved out of the agency last year. N Krishnan was the only partner remaining with the agency.
Dadoo comes in from McCann Worldgroup, Indonesia, where he was involved in a similar capacity. He was with the agency for four years. A veteran in the financial space, he is a CA by profession and began his career in Mumbai about two decades ago as a consultant with banks such as Citibank and Grindlays.
He has worked with Euro RSCG, Mumbai as regional controller, IMEA (India, West Asia and Africa) for about two years. He has also been with Ducont, a software corporation specialising in mobile and Internet software. He was with Ducont for about five years and held the designation of executive director and CFO when he left the company.
Talking about balancing between hard core financials and advertising, Dadoo says that he finds the two quite similar. “The finance and advertising industries are both service industries, with the cost based on the effort of the people and the revenue based on serving the client. Considering the person that I am – interested in learning how various industries work – my career has lent me some good practical exposure.”
In a press release to the media, Sethuraman said, “Krishnan does not need a certificate from me, or anyone else for that matter, for all the great work he has done for TBWA over the last 20 years. He is one of the pillars on which this agency was built and I wish him all the success moving forward. Dadoo has a fantastic track record, a great reputation and a deep desire to make things happen. This is an important phase in the journey of the organisation and I am certain he will play a vital role in taking us to the next level.”
Jackson adds that Dadoo’s experience in establishing McCann in an adverse climate in Indonesia will be a great advantage in the current environment and his insightful leadership will be a true benefit as the agency takes on the future challenges in India.