#MeToo sees first high-level departures in India’s adland, as Dentsu execs step down
Both the Happy mcgarrybowen chief executive officer Kartik Iyer and the managing director Praveen Das have stepped down from the agency, in the wake of allegations of sexual harassment.
Senior creative director at Happy mcgarrybowen Bodhisatwa Dasgupta has also stepped down, shortly after writing an open letter on Medium directed at everyone he’d been “sexually inappropriate with”.
Meanwhile, a staffer at another Dentsu Aegis Network agency who had been called out – Dinesh Swamy the national creative director at iProspect – has also stepped down.
The holding company issued the following statement: “Dentsu Aegis Network has always believed in providing a safe environment at our workplaces, which is free from any kind of harassments. We have a zero tolerance policy towards any kind of harassment at our workplaces.
“Mr Kartik Iyer (CEO) and Mr Praveen Das (MD) have stepped down from their respective positions and responsibilities at Happy Creative Services. Additionally, Bodhisatwa Dasgupta, senior creative director, Happy Creative Services and Dinesh Swamy, national creative director, iProspect India have also stepped down from their respective positions.”
Iyer and Das were the founders of Happy Creative Services, which was rebranded Happy mcgarrybowen after being acquired in 2016. They are among the senior most personnel to leave their organisations in the wake of the #MeTooIndia movement gaining momentum in recent weeks.
Dasgupta was known for starting Longhand, a contest with the stated goal of reviving long-form copy. It counted Neil French, the erstwhile worldwide creative director at WPP and Adrian Homes the former chief creative officer at Lowe Worldwide and founder of Holmes, Hobbes and Marcontonio among its judges.
Ravi is the editor at Mumbrella Asia. He has covered the marketing, advertising and media business for over two decades.
Wonder if it #MeToo implication was an alibi used either by the founders themselves to exit Happy or for DAN to exit them. Who knows!!!?
ReplyYou wouldn’t say this if you were actually paying attention to what these 4 guys have been accused of, which left DAN with no choice but to get rid of them.
ReplyI have worked in Indian agencies for years. These men were called out and the agency smartly responded. If you think for one moment that these men were the only offenders, you’re mad. Wait until we see what is brewing at some WPP agencies here in India now that women are getting organised with clear evidence of conduct unbefitting a senior manager. It is time to clean house and put people before egos, profits or vanity. Hiding behind our own precious culture is no longer an option. It begins at the top and trickles down to every single manager. The word is out. If you’re a global creative head, you’re getting jettisoned, regardless of your record of Cannes wins. People are no longer standing for your cheating, manipulative and perverse ways. Times have changed. We are moving forward without you starting now.
Replyseems like the only people left in advertising soon will be women 🙁
ReplyI have dealt with a very well known creative agency regional leader in Asia who is infamous for his sexual exploitations amongst his female subordinates.
ReplyEven the HR team knew of his exploits but no one dared to even voice out to the relevant authorities due to his close connection to the group CEO then.
Amazingly such incompetent leaders still exist within the system and time to weed them out.
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