New Delhi: Ipsos India has rejigged the roles of its top team in Operations. Deepak Garkhel, Operations Head of Ipsos in India, has been elevated to Operations Director, Ipsos Asia Pacific Excluding China (APEC) Region; Pratim Thakurta, National Field Head, is promoted to Operations Head of Ipsos in India; and Kedar Padgaonkar, responsible for Scripting, will now spearhead Data Processing for Ipsos in India.
Amit Adarkar, CEO of Ipsos in India, who held the additional charge of APEC Operations Director has happily handed out the APEC Operations portfolio to Garkhel. “It was extremely important to synchronize operations in the region and to tie up the loose ends, at the same time leverage opportunities, which I did for the most part in 2019 and now that things are on a smooth grid, Garkhel will be adept at taking it forward. I have my hands full with my India role,” said Amit Adarkar, CEO, Ipsos in India.
“All these new roles in Operations & Field & Tab are further going to strengthen our position in the marketplace, ensuring our data quality sets the highest benchmarks for clients, aiding them in decision making and competitiveness,” added Adarkar.
Roles Redefined
All these positions are of immense significance: Garkhel will be overseeing Operations of 12 markets in the APEC Region (India, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, ANZ, Philippines, Taiwan, and Japan). In Ipsos parlance, Operations include Field, Quality Assurance and Budget & Planning.
He will report to Hamish Munro, Global CEO, Ipsos Interactive Services (IIS) and Operations and on the dotted line to Christophe Cambournac, CEO, Ipsos AMEA (Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa). Garkhel in his 30 years in market research has led the field, operations, and even international research, making him the ideal choice for the role. He has held senior leadership positions with Ipsos, Millward Brown, TNS, MarketProbe, Pathfinders & Gallup. He is a management grad from IILM.
Thakurta, on the other hand, apart from leading the National Field Operations will also oversee Quality Assurance & Budget & Planning for Ipsos in India, and report to Amit Adarkar, CEO, Ipsos in India. Thakurta has about 27 years of work experience straddling Ipsos, Nielsen, TNS, Gallup, and Indica in different capacities, within India and other geographies. Under his able leadership, Ipsos has handled large field projects with utmost planning and detailing, exceeding client expectations.
Patgaonkar, with almost two decades in data processing, is credited with driving new initiatives for the field (data capture via tablets, completely eliminating pen and paper form of data gathering), automation and dashboards, interfacing with other Ipsos markets in the region.
He reports to Raja Burnet, executive director, Mobile First & New Initiatives, Ipsos in India.
