Arvind Wable, Former CEO, FCB Ulka
On another episode of The Brand Called You, we have with us Mr. Arvind Wable. Mr. Wable is the CEO of FCB ULKA. He is from St. Stephen’s College and has finished his graduation from The Delhi School of Economics.
Podcast
Overview
On another episode of The Brand Called You, we have with us Mr. Arvind Wable. Mr. Wable is the CEO of FCB ULKA. He is from St. Stephen’s College and has finished his graduation from The Delhi School of Economics. He is a management professional from IIM AHMEDABAD and has worked with renowned brands like JWT. Mr. Wable is a life coach and is currently associated with WWF Urban Advocacy Task Force and The Population Foundation of India.
After graduating from Delhi School of Economics, Mr. Wable got into IIM unplanned. After completing his degree and learning a great deal from IIM AHMEDABAD, Mr Wable landed into the field of Advertising. While describing his very long professional career in Advertising, Mr. Wable discussed the changes that have taken place in the industry over the past decades. He also explained how Family Companies realised their shift into the marketing field over time.
Mr. Garg and Mr. Wable discussed the digitalisation of advertisements from newspapers, radios and magazines to handheld devices like mobile phones. Mr. Wable believes that this digitalisation has helped the smaller agencies with younger employees greatly.
Mr. Wable also enlightened the viewers with some very worthwhile tips on picking Advertising agencies. He suggested to go with the more creative agencies, and agencies that provide strategic thinking and plans for brand positioning.
They briefly talked about the importance of failures and the lessons that failures teach. Mr. Wable also pointed out some common mistakes that startup entrepreneurs make.
His views are knowledgeable and his work has been recognised widely. Mr. Wable has shared some of his best experiences which might prove to helpful to a number of individuals looking to join the fields of advertisement!
Profile
Arvind is an alumnus of St. Stephens College, Delhi School of Economics and IIM Ahmedabad and a career spanning 38 years in marketing, sales and advertising. He started his career in Advertising with Hindustan Thompson now JWT) rising very quickly to independently lead one of the largest business groups in the agency with brands like Air India , Bombay Dyeing, Hindustan Levers , Siemens etc. He then moved over to the other side of the table to head the marketing function for two very successful starts ups in Office Automation and Directory /Database Management Services where he was involved in setting up large direct selling /marketing teams including the first large scale tele- marketing operation in the country.
In 1989 Arvind returned to Advertising with Ulka (now FCB Ulka) to help turn around and rebuild the agency aone of the top three agency groups in the country. He has worked on some of the landmark campaigns the agency has produced for clients like Hero Honda, Naukri.com, Pepsico, Whirlpool, Tata Docomo etc.
He was on the Board of FCB Ulka, served as CEO of FCB Ulka Delhi and CEO FCB Singapore and finally as the Advisor to the Board.
After twenty-six years at FCB Ulka, Arvind finally retired three years ago. He now spends his time doing pro-bono work for a few NGOs. Arvind is actively involved in social, environmental and conservation issues and is the Vice President and Trustee on the Board of WWF India and member of the WWF International Board Sub Committee on Media. He is the Co – Chair Urban Advocacy Task force and Member of the Steering Committee of the Indian Sanitation Coalition a platform bringing together all the stake holders for the Swatch Bharat Campaign. He is on the Technical Advisory Group of the Population Foundation of India.
Arvind has had a keen interest in coaching and mentoring for many years and has been actively involved in training and human resource development activities all through his career. He is a certified coach and a Master Solution Focus Practioner.
Inspired by the advertising line …”When was the last time you did something for the first time” ( what else would you expect from an advertising man ! ) Arvind has taken up Painting and Photography buying his first DSLR just two years ago. The painting journey has been wonderful so far – working with color and texture. Form and watercolors are the next frontiers. He is also catching up on his reading with special focus on Ancient Indian History. Working on his golf game is an ongoing project.
Arvind and his wife Neerja love gardening, travelling and spending time with family and friends.
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