Percept restructures UAE business

Percept has restructured and consolidated the Marketing Communications Services in the UAE with the appointment of an all new elevated Marcom and Creative team effective August 2014 with an aim to bring greater focus, synergy and service offerings to the West Asia market.

Percept Gulf will now encompass a wider spectrum of product offerings & solutions spanning Advertising, Brand Marketing Consultancy, Strategy, Creative & Design, Public Relations, Digital Marketing, Integrated Marketing Communication Consultancy, Media Planning & Buying, Digital Media buying/planning, Experiential Marketing, Sports Marketing, Brand Activations & Promotions, and the Marketing & Promotion of renowned Intellectual Properties owned by Percept Limited.

Eymard Saldanha has been appointed as the new Chief Operating Officer and Percept Gulf will continue to be spearheaded by Founder and CEO Bipin Pathak.

Eymard Saldanha will be responsible for leading Business Development and Integration of all the Marketing Communications Services for the Gulf region, identifying opportunities and platforms of synergy for clients across the Marcom spectrum of services, attaining profitability and revenue growth while paving the roadmap for the overall Marcom Business of Percept Gulf.

Eymard has had an illustrious 25 year long career in the Media & Communications domain. He has handled portfolios spanning global agencies, start-ups, brand development, business mergers & acquisitions spanning Europe Middle East & Africa and India. Prior to joining Percept Gulf, Eymard was associated with Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide as Regional Director EEMEA – BAT and Head of Advertising MENA. His client portfolio includes global and regional clients such as Unilever, Glaxo Smithkline, BAT, Kraft Foods, IBM, United Biscuits, Boots Pharmaceuticals, Vadilal Ice Creams, Voltas Air conditioners, Britannia Industries, Marico Industries, ITC, SEB Group and IDBI.

Commenting on his new role as COO, Percept Gulf, Eymard Saldanha said, “Percept has been a pioneer in the Entertainment, Media & Communications domain in the Gulf region and has set numerous benchmarks over the past two decades. Percept Gulf is an established name in the West Asia market and my mandate is to use the synergy of the Percept Group to propel us to a faster growth trajectory. I look forward to working closely with the team at Percept to ensure that we attain our lofty goals.”

Welcoming Eymard to Percept, Bipin Pathak, Founder & CEO, Percept Gulf said, “We strongly believe that Eymard will be able to provide the leadership and vision that Percept Gulf requires to become an even stronger entity in the Media & Communications space in the Gulf region. His global leadership experience and brand experience will help us achieve the magnitude and growth targets we have earmarked for ourselves.”

Percept also announced appointments to the restructured Percept Gulf team with the induction of Priya Hartnell and Pushpanjali Bisht who have joined in the capacity of Client Services Director’s, and Ali Inam as Head of Digital Services.

Priya Hartnell has previously worked at Rain Creative, UAE as Client Services Director where she handled brands spanning the Retail, Finance, Fashion, Entertainment and Manufacturing categories including Al Anwaar, Candelite, HSBC, AIG, B4U Aflam, and United Security Printing. Prior to this, she also worked across global markets in leading organisations including Lowe & Partners, Mumbai; Batey / Red Cell, Singapore; Ogilvy & Mather, Singapore; JWT, Dubai; and HSBC Bank Middle East, Dubai. She also turned entrepreneur and set up a boutique jewellery retail company in UAE which offered women professionals a unique range of designer handcrafted jewellery.

Said an elated Priya Hartnell on her new role as Client Services Director at Percept Gulf, “I am thrilled to be a part of the Percept Gulf team. The fantastic Creative and Marcom work executed by Percept Gulf over the past two decades in West Asia is truly amazing. The beauty lies in the mix of unique customized solutions spanning brand identity, media, films, mainline advertising, sports, events, IPs and you name it – 360 degrees in true spirit! I look forward to extending my experience to Percept Gulf’s businesses, both existing and new.”

Pushpanjali Bisht, the newly appointed Client Services Director of Percept Gulf has over a decade’s experience across India and the Middle East region in the arena of Brand Development & Communications Strategy spanning both ATL and BTL solutions. She has worked with Ogilvy One, JWT RMG, Saatchi & Saatchi, Leo Burnett, Lowe Lintas and Equity, and has handled a diverse range of accounts viz. TATA Infotech, Mother Dairy, ITC, Oracle India, Bata, Vodafone, Samsung Mobile Phones, Philip Morris International, Micromax and Acer.

Speaking of her new assignment Pushpanjali Bisht said, “I am delighted to join the Percept Gulf team. This move is challenging and different, as along with everyday functional responsibilities of the office, delivery of a strong strategic product and client relationships will be a priority. Percept Gulf has been rapidly growing and offers a wide canvas, where many unique and integrated services can be incorporated for holistic planning”.

Ali Inam, another key recruit who has joined the newly restructured Percept Gulf team as Head of Digital Services, brings aboard over 5 years of vital experience in the Strategy & Planning arena spanning multiple mediums. Prior to joining Percept Gulf, Ali served as Head of Digital Strategy & Planning and Account Manager for Unilever at Creative Chaos where he led the Digital initiatives for Magnum, Ponds, Vaseline, Wall’s Home Delivery and Dove. He has also handled market research for brands like T-Mobile, AT&T and Intuit at VMI, Inc., and also served as Strategic Planner at BEDDB where he managed key accounts such as Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, Pepsi, Pringles, GSK, Abbott and Engro Foods.

Commented Ali on his new innings at Percept Gulf, “Percept Gulf has immense potential and I am very excited to be a part of this dynamic team to take it to the next level. With a sizeable population of the Middle East accessing new age mediums for their communication and information needs, I am excited to create meaningful and engaging content for a diverse target audience, as also identify the perfect mix of media vehicles and platforms to maximize delivery, visibility and reach for our clients.”

Elaborated Bipin Pathak, Founder & CEO, Percept Gulf, “The restructuring and consolidation of our business in the Gulf region is in keeping with the evolving and dynamic changes in the Media and Communications Industry and would enable Percept to offer greater efficiencies in the way it operates and functions. The new structure would also offer our stakeholders a wider range of properties, solutions and service offerings in the communications domain thereby translating into a more heightened level of synergy, customer service & value to our stakeholders across West Asia.”