Mumbai: PR veteran Ameer Ismail has been promoted to President by MullenLowe Lintas Group, effective immediately. He has led the group’s PR firm GolinOpinion (formerly LinOpinion) for over 20 years and built the agency into one of the top players in the PR industry. He was also instrumental in bringing Golin on-board as JV partner in India in 2014. GolinOpinion operates as a part of the marketing services offerings of MullenLowe Lintas Group.
Ameer continues to report to Vikas Mehta – Group CMO & President, Marketing Services for the group. Announcing this elevation, Vikas said “Ameer is just the right mix of Vintage and Vision. In a time when the practice of PR is more important than ever, but the business of PR is getting highly commoditized; he’s the kind of leader the industry needs. PR is an integral part of our re-bundled offering and GolinOpinion occupies a great position in the market today. Reinventing yourself from a position of strength is a rare & valuable opportunity and I’m delighted to have Ameer lead that agenda for us.”
Founded in 1996, LinOpinion was amongst the first PR offerings by a communications group (Lintas) in India, and remains the most successful of any agency’s PR offerings to date. Since 2015, the agency has been on a journey to evolve its model, structure, and offerings. The agency is now fully structured around Golin’s world-renowned G4 model. It was also one of the first PR firms in the country to offer a social media practice in the form of brand newsrooms, called the Bridge™.
Speaking of the promotion, Ameer Ismail, says, “I am so proud to be a part of this great institution – the MullenLowe Lintas Group and am looking forward to this new phase in my journey with a renewed focus and dedication towards delivering great work. GolinOpinion is recognized as a premium and leading player in the PR industry. We have today some of the best brands represented in our portfolio. As the business evolves, I am tasked to work closely with our management team to take GolinOpinion to even greater heights by building scale and new competencies that will continue the brave work that has been our trademark so far.”
GolinOpinion manages the PR mandate for some leading global and Indian companies and brands including TATA Starbucks, Dubai Ports World, Budweiser, Texas Instruments, HUL (multiple brands), Seiko, Etihad Airways, Marriott International Inc, Porsche, Lamborghini, Cinepolis and Sony Pictures Networks India.
Ameer is a part of the Golin global leadership group and works closely with the regional and global MDs. He serves on the advisory committee board of several management forums. He has served as a jury for several award shows including SABRE and GoaFest. He has worked with the Centre of Change Management in successful seminars like International Brand Summit and The Asia Pacific HR Conference. He was also awarded the CMO Asia Award for Outstanding Contribution to Corporate Communications in Singapore in 2011 and recently named one of the top 10 leaders in the PR industry in India by Reputation Today magazine.
