Burson Cohn & Wolfe (BCW) has announced that Genesis BCW and Six Degrees BCW will function under one business group in India.
The integration comes after BCW's acquisition of the minority held by Zach James and Rishi Seth, the co-founders of Six Degrees.
A statement revealed that both brands will be retained and continue to operate separately under the BCW India Group. This will lead to sharing of the staff, resources and services of each firm to provide additional value to clients.
The PPR and Alphabet brands and teams will be absorbed into Genesis BCW and Six Degrees BCW. Under this structure, Genesis BCW and Six Degrees BCW will maintain separate legal entities which safeguards them where potential conflicts exist.
The BCW India Group will be managed by the ‘BCW India Board’ and will report to Matt Stafford, regional president, Asia-Pacific, BCW.
BCW India board appointments include:
- Prema Sagar (currently CEO and founder of Genesis BCW) becomes chairperson, BCW India Group and will be based in New Delhi
- Zach James (co-group CEO, Six Degrees BCW) becomes chief strategy officer, BCW Apac and executive sponsor, BCW India Group, based in New Delhi.
- Deepshikha Dharmaraj (currently MD) becomes CEO. She will be based in Mumbai.
- Rishi Seth (currently co-group CEO) becomes CEO, Six Degrees BCW. He will be based in New Delhi.
- Vandana Sandhir (currently heading PPR India) has been appointed as chief client officer and will be based in New Delhi.
Donna Imperato, global CEO, BCW and CEO BCW Group, said, “India is a critical market for BCW and I’m confident this integration will boost our bold growth strategy for the market. I’m excited to see the formidable talent under BCW India Group continue to move people with the creativity and innovation that is at the heart of all we do.”
Imperato added, “With the Six Degrees earnout complete, our clients can now tap the tremendous talent and capabilities from our incredibly strong team across both brands. The complementary capabilities of each brand and the resulting synergies will also make the new BCW India Group an even more attractive workplace for our employees and future recruits.”
Sagar said, “I am delighted at the coming together of the people, ideas and resources of these two firms. I look forward to working closely with Deepshikha, Zach and Rishi to drive the integration of the teams under the BCW India Group, and to demonstrate our combined strength to our clients, our people and the industry.”