Mumbai:Dentsu India has announced the elevation of Anita Kotwani to CEO Media, South Asia, dentsu. In her expanded role Kotwani will lead all dentsu’s media businesses across South Asia including Carat, iProspect, dentsu X, Posterscope, and media investment arm Amplifi. Divya Karani will be transitioning off the media business to pursue personal interests after building a successful media reputation for dentsu India over the last decade.
This announcement closely follows last week’s appointment of Harsha Razdan, dentsu South Asia’s new CEO, as the business continues to strengthen its leadership team in the region. Kotwani’s appointment is effective immediately.
Most recently, Kotwani was CEO, Carat India, a position she has held since 2020. A passionate media expert with over two decades of experience in the industry, she has an extensive background in media management for consumer durables, financial services, FMCG, and MNC brands. Kotwani is a regular on the award circuit, chairing juries for various bodies including EMVIEs, Goafest, and Kyoorius. Most recently, she won ‘Agency Head of the Year’ at the Campaign Agency of the Year Awards 2022. She was also named ‘Impact Top 50 Influential Women’ of 2022 in the Media, Marketing, and Advertising category, ‘Women to Watch’ in 2018, and ‘Impact Top 50 Influential Women’ in 2019.
dentsu CEO APAC & Interim CEO India (until newly appointed CEO, Razdan, starts) Rob Gilby said, “Kotwani is a well-loved leader who firmly looks to the future, bringing her people with her on the journey and is fearless in her approach to driving new solutions for clients. The Media opportunity in India is growing exponentially. Kotwani’s background, coupled with Razdan’s complimentary experience is building a powerful force in our business to drive growth for our clients in this exciting market.”
Gilby added, “Over the past 10 years Karani has successfully scaled our business on a market-beating trajectory, evidenced by dentsu becoming the #1 agency in RECMA 2021. We thank her for her years of dedication and wish her the very best for the future. I am looking forward to the next wave of leadership accelerating the solid foundation Karani has built.”
Karani said, “I am proud of what I have accomplished with dentsu. Having worked closely with Kotwani – a valuable member of my leadership team, I know there is no better candidate for me to hand the reins to lead the media business to new heights. While it’s always a bittersweet moment to leave your ‘baby’, it is time for me to move on and pursue new opportunities.”
Kotwani said, “I have learned a tremendous amount from Karani and am honoured to be given this baton to carry on the marathon. You don’t just replace three decades of experience overnight – I intend to take this on with my utmost commitment and will look to continually challenge myself and my wonderful team of media specialists to always stay at the forefront of the industry to deliver the world’s best-integrated media strategies.”
