MUMBAI: Madison Media has just announced the appointment of Vinay Hegde as SVP buying; reporting into the group’s buying COO Neelkamal Sharma. Hegde joins the agency from Starcom Mediavest Group, where he was national trading director.

Hegde has over 20 years of experience having worked in Mindshare Fulcrum for over 10 years handling buying for Unilever business. He has also worked in Disney as Director Revenue Strategy and HTA and Percept previously.

Madison Media & OOH group CEO Vikram Sakhuja said, “I am delighted to have Hegde join our team. I have known him as a fantastic Buyer whose understanding of the Indian TV environment is second to none. He will bring considerable heft to Madison’s prodigious Buying strength.”

On his appointment Hegde said, “I am delighted and look forward to using my experience to contribute to the crystallization of the vision of the leadership team here at Madison. In my view Madison is the quintessential example of an agency with strong foundations built on human spirit by the enigmatic and brilliant Sam Balsara and now infused with a fresh energy by the charismatic Vikram Sakhuja. ”

Madison Media Group handles media planning and buying for blue chip clients including Godrej, ITC, Marico, Snapdeal, McDonald’s, TVS, Raymond, Piramal Healthcare, Levis, SpiceJet, Domino’s, Max Life Insurance, Asian Paints, Pidilite, Tata Salt, Acer, Crompton, Indian Oil, Gowardhan Dairy, Café Coffee Day and many others. The gross billing of Madison Media Group is about Rs. 3,750 crores.