Bates CHI&Partners' new president, Mumbai head is Asheesh Malhotra

Bates CHI&Partners has roped in Asheesh Malhotra as president and head of the Mumbai office. Malhotra will report to CEO Srikanth VS. He will work closely with chief strategy officer Sourabh Mishra, chief creative officer Manmohan Anchan (Maac), NCD Sagar Mahabaleshwarkar and other members of the management team.

Speaking about the appointment, Srikanth said, “Asheesh is one of the most talented people in our business today. In particular, he shines at growing existing client relationships and winning new business. His appointment is key to our growth agenda, by demonstrating fully our ability to deliver ‘Big Ideas for Ambitious Brands’.

Added Malhotra, “Bates CHI&Partners is a true blue new model agency. It breaks the traditional mould of ‘in-house only talent and resources’, and instead practices true collaboration by pulling together the best resources that the world has to offer, especially in the disciplines of digital, social and retail. As a result, we can offer solutions that are designed to break through more quickly, thus saving clients loads of media bucks. Recent interactions with clients have reaffirmed the need for such a nimble and creative agency model.

Malhotra’s experience spans 18 years, including his term with Ogilvy Mumbai from where he moves to Bates CHI&Partners. His last position as senior vice president saw him leading the business on a Unilever portfolio - the Beverages division for South Asia. Besides Unilever, he also led the CASTROL lubricants global hub in India, BP corporate and financial businesses such as Bank Of India, SBI Life Insurance and Federal Bank.