Wunderman India, the one-to-one communications arm of Rediffusion Y&R, has announced Leroy Alvares as its new President. He will be based out of Mumbai and will be reporting into Mahesh Chauhan, Group CEO, Rediffusion Y&R. Alvares comes in from Tribal DDB, India.
Commenting on the appointment, Mahesh Chauhan said, “Wunderman India is at a juncture today where its role and contribution to the Rediffusion Y&R Group is critical. We were looking at a lead, who would not only head the organisation today, but also lead it to its rightful place of preeminence in the future. Leroy’s knowledge of the direct as well as digital practice will be essential in driving that future for Wunderman.”
On his new role, Alvares said, “I am looking forward to the opportunity to leverage the talent and understanding within Wunderman to manage consumer behaviour on a one-to-one basis both in the digital and real world.”
Alvares had joined Tribal DDB in 2006 as Country Head. He comes to the Rediffusion Y&R Group with over 13 years of experience across Advertising, Brand Management, Direct and Internet Marketing. His experience spans several categories like Financial Services, Retail, Telecom, IT, Fashion and Lifestyle. He has a track record of brand building through relevant, innovative and impactful communication solutions that work across media platforms.
Alvares has earlier worked with iContract, the one-to-one direct marketing arm of Contract Advertising, as the profit centre head for its Mumbai operations, before taking over from CVS Sharma at Tribal DDB. He spent six years at iContract, prior to which he was with Ogilvy India.
While he was at iContract, Alvares was the lead on the team that won a Gold Lion at the Cannes Lions Direct. At GoaFest 2008, Tribal DDB, led by Alvares, won Gold and Bronze in the Interactive Digital Advertising – Website category, while also picking up Silver in the Web Banners and Bronze in the Integrated Campaign categories for Interactive Digital Advertising. At GoaFest 2009, they won two Bronzes, one each in the Digital and Direct categories.