Starcom MediaVest Group Digital makes two senior appointments

Starcom MediaVest Group’s digital arm has announced the appointment of Sharon Aneja as director, earned innovation and business head, West, and Gautham Pingali as director, digital improvisation. While Sharon Aneja will be based out of Mumbai, Gautham Pingali will be working from the Bengaluru office. Both will be reporting to Arnab Mitra, national director, SMG Digital.

Confirming the appointments, Arnab Mitra, national director, SMG Digital, said, “We are thrilled to have Sharon and Gautham on board. While Sharon has huge global exposure and a very solid creative experience in her kitty, Gautham has a sharp inclination towards business development and strategy. I am sure both will immensely contribute to the success of SMG Digital.”

Commenting on her move, Aneja said, “While moving to India I was keen on moving to an organisation that had Digital as one of its core functions and was future focused. I am thrilled to be a part of SMG Digital as it is an extremely future focused and strategic pillar of SMG.”

Pingali said, “I am thoroughly excited to work with SMG Digital as they have some unique methods a great team and a very strong vision, with this ability  they are in the forefront of creating a new dimension to the marketing & communication space by leveraging the Digital platform.”  

Aneja has recently shifted to India after working in London for the last 12 years. Prior to joining SMG Digital she was working with UKTV (the commercial arm of the BBC) as the head of digital entertainment, where she was responsible for developing a creative and commercially focused multi-platform vision for the company’s core entertainment brands.

She began her career in 1991 with Conde Nast and has since then held positions with organisations like Virgin Media, National Geographic, and Sky. She completed her education from Queen Mary University of London.

With the appointment of Gautham Ram Pingali, SMG Digital intends to indicate that there are high interest levels in digital in the southern market as well.

Pingali has over six years of experience in multiple verticals across industries. He joins SMG Digital after a three year stint with Havas Media. He was working as associate director strategy and business development with Havas Digital India where he also managed the businesses in North. Gautham started his career in 2004 with AIESEC Hyderabad and has since then led teams at Myrmidon Consulting and ABN AMRO Central Enterprise Services. He is an engineering graduate from Jawaharlal Nehru Technology University in Hyderabad.