Mumbai : Sam Balsara’s Madison World has roped in Vikram Sakhuja, global strategic development officer at GroupM, as the chief executive officer and board member of Madison Media and Madison OOH, sources close to the development said.
Apparently, Vikram Sakhuja was unhappy after a recent global level restructuring in GroupM, where-in his role was positioned with comparatively lesser importance.
Sakhuja is also likely to own single digit minority stake in Madison Media and Madison OOH, which will go up over some years to low double-digit stake, the person said. This is the first time that Balsara, who owns Madison World along with his daughter Lara Balsara, is getting into an equity partnership,
Sakhuja will run the operations of Madison Media and Madison OOH, which account for three-fourths of the group’s revenues, and report to Balsara.
Sakhuja will run the operations of Madison Media and Madison OOH, which account for three-fourths of the group’s revenues, and report to Balsara.
Sam Balsara, the founder of Madison, said: “I am delighted to have Vikram come on board and partner us in Madison. I know Vikram as a true blue professional, over the last 20 years, first as a Client, then a Media partner and finally as a formidable competitor. I am confident that he will be able to contribute significantly to our clients’ business growth and success, by providing the right strategic direction, given his vast and rich experience”.
Sakhuja commented: “I am truly excited at the prospect of returning home to India and in an entrepreneurial capacity. It is also a privilege to now partner a person who initiated me into media in my client days. Media has never been more exciting, and I look forward to further strengthening an already iconic Agency brand.”
Gautam Kiyawat, CEO at Madison Media Group, has quit and is relocating to Singapore. Lara Balsara, executive director at Madison World, will continue on board of the two companies. She will also look at group HR and Madison’s diversification.
Other companies of Madison World, including creative agency Madison BMB, sports marketing firm PMG, will continue to be run by their respective business heads and will not report to Sakhuja.
An IIT-Delhi and IIM-Calcutta alumnus, Sakhuja has over 28 years of experience in marketing, advertising and broadcast industries and has worked with Proctor & Gamble (P&G), Coca-Cola, Star TV and GroupM. He joined MindShare in 2002 and became CEO at GroupM South Asia in 2006. In 2013, he was promoted as the CEO of Maxus Worldwide and in 2014 he was named the global strategic development officer and was relocated to the UK.
“It is evident that through Sakhuja, Balsara now wants to create a strong second line of leadership,” said the head of a leading media buying conglomerate. Sakhuja is known as a tough competitor.
