CVL Srinivas, CEO (South Asia), GroupM will be honoured this year with the exchange4media Group's prestigious exchange4media Influencer of the Year Award
The media agency business in India has been shaped by stalwarts who joined it in its nascent stage and have left an indelible mark on it with their foresight and enterprise. One such visionary is CVL Srinivas, CEO (South Asia) of GroupM, who will be honoured this year with the exchange4media Group’s restigious exchange4media Influencer of the Year Award.
Srinivas has been a guiding force in the media industry since its inception, and also works closely with several industry bodies such as BARC, MRUC, ABC, etc., to push for reforms in the domain while moving forward the digital agenda of the industry.
His life in advertising began at the erstwhile Lintas, Bengaluru, where he worked on brands like Brooke Bond and Lipton. From Lintas, he moved to HTA (Hindustan Thompson Associates, now J. Walter Thompson) where he was part of the start-up team that came together to form Fulcrum - the dedicated media planning and buying team for Hindustan Unilever Limited in 1995. His efforts to set up Fulcrum, now Mindshare Fulcrum, constitute one of his biggest contributions to the advertising industry.
During his stint at GroupM, Srinivas has built a reputation as an astute observer of the media and advertising industry. He was also instrumental in setting up Maxus in India before expanding it to APAC. Under his leadership, GroupM has witnessed a healthy growth and has consolidated its position as the leading media agency in the country. GroupM – the largest media buying and planning entity in India – has witnessed steady growth, according to Paris-based Research Company Evaluating Media Agencies (RECMA).
The company’s market-share has grown to almost 45% under Srinivas. During his career spanning over 20 years, Srinivas has worked with other leading media agencies in India like Starcom Mediavest and Madison World, managing clients such as Coca Cola, Cadbury’s, Vodafone, Samsung, Nokia and Perfetti, to name a few.
Srinivas was chosen after a rigorous selection process. As part of the process, industry leaders from the media, advertising, and marketing, fraternity shared their nominations and thoughts on the significant contributions made by the various nominated individuals and Srinivas was chosen from a final shortlist.
In 2016, the exchange4media Group initiated the Influencer of the Year award, which honours visionaries who have transformed the industry and inspired the next level of growth while progressively using innovative technology for business achievements. Raj Nayak, COO of Viacom18, was the recipient of the inaugural Influencer of the Year award last year for his enormous and continuing contributions to the media industry.
The award ceremony will be held alongside the exchange4media Group’s flagship property – the exchange4media Conclave - on October 27, 2017 at the Taj Santa Cruz in Mumbai.
