Kantar Names South Asia HR Leader

WPP's Kantar division has appointed Rajani Athreya as HR Director, Insights & Country HR Services Leader for South Asia. She is based in Mumbai.

WPP CEO Mark Read is currently leading a turnaround strategy which includes a formal process to sell Kantar, home to the agencies formerly known as TNS, Millward Brown and Lightspeed. The sale process is said to be 'progressing well', and Bain Capital and Apollo Global Management LLC are among those moving into the next stage of bidding for Kantar, according to sources.

Athreya (pictured) joins with more than 25 years' experience. Most recently, she worked at DBS Bank India as COO-HR, with a remit covering HR performance management, employer branding and awards, employee value proposition and diversity. Prior to this, she was Head of Human Resources, India GGO for Thomson Reuters; Head of HR for Standard Chartered Securities, India; and Associate Manager - HR for ANZ Grindlays Bank.

In her new role, Athreya will lead the HR team across South Asia, working closely with the business to drive its 'people agenda' across the region. Commenting on the appointment, Preeti Reddy, CEO, Insights Division, South Asia, said: 'Our new single-brand strategy aims to achieve simplicity, speed, and impact for our clients. In a knowledge business like ours, this makes managing our talent an absolute imperative, particularly when the majority of talent in the industry lies with Kantar. Rajani's vast experience in talent development, organizational culture and change management will ensure we have the right expertise in place to support our clients'.

Web site: www.kantar.com .