Neeraj Bassi joins Cheil as chief strategy officer

Cheil India has appointed Neeraj Bassi as Chief Strategy Officer. In this role, Bassi will be responsible for the planning and strategy product of the agency across all its business divisions.

With over 19 years of experience in connecting brands and consumers, Bassi (pictured) is one of the most recognized and awarded names in the business. He has been associated with Ogilvy, JWT and McCann in the past where he lent his expertise and insights on various brands to drive and deliver successful campaigns.

Bassi has been awarded at various effectiveness platforms such as Effies (India & APAC), AME and WARC. He has also helped develop award winning campaigns for brands such as Coca-Cola, Cadbury, Voltas, BMW, Honda, Philips, HSBC, Max Life, Vistara & WeChat to name a few.

Commenting on the appointment, Shiv Sethuraman, Group President, Cheil South-West Asia said, “We are going for a massive acceleration in our capabilities in 2016 and I am delighted to have Neeraj on board at this critical juncture in our evolution. His passion for integrated communication combined with his gravitas and deep knowledge of brands and consumers in the Indian context have impressed us. We look forward to some great work together. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Sonal Narain for her contribution over the past year.”

Bassi said, “Today, we need a completely new approach to communication. You need to think like an entrepreneur and keep on redefining the communication paradigm. Cheil’s transformation journey in the short span of 14-15 months is testimony to the intent and momentum of the company. When John and Shiv told me about the specific focus on promoting entrepreneurship and driving integration at Cheil, it was an instant meeting of minds. With good understanding of what it takes to be successful in the age of networking, I am looking forward to bring these learnings to clients of Cheil, especially Samsung.”