By Adedapo Adesanya
First Primus Group, the WPP Partner agency in Nigeria, has appointed Mr Vikas Parihar as Chief Digital Officer at the group level.
Mr Parihar, in his new role, will drive digital transformation and business for the group, partnering with individual agency MDs and country managers, implementing global digital practices, providing strategic leadership for digital integration, and paving the digital roadway for the group.
In a statement made available to Business Post, the company said – “With rich experience spanning over 16 years, Vikas has led digital business and marketing for FCB India as group President Digital Integration for India, OgilvyOne Africa as a Managing Director, Havas Worldwide India as Senior Vice President, Vice president for Magnon\TBWA group in India and Internet Moguls, Director of Marketing communications for Sofitel Luxury Hotels and Resorts India and have been a part of Hinduja Group and Hotel Leela Venture as well.
“His experience ranges across numerous sectors including FMCG, Technology, Healthcare, Travel and Hospitality, Social Development/ Tech for Good, eCommerce, Consumer Durables and Electronics. He has lent his expertise to various brands, such as UNICEF, Plan India, Airtel Africa, Coca-Cola Africa, Standard Chartered Bank, Care India, HCL Healthcare, Huawei, Microsoft Lumia, Jindal Steel and Power, Mercedes Benz India, UTV, Toshiba, Daikin, Turkey Tourism, TATA group companies and many more.”
Mr Parihar will be joining with a unique combination of skills ranging from a passion for business and numbers to strategy, creativity, data, and technology. He is a certified customer experience management professional from the Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode, a design thinking practitioner and a certified storyteller using data visualisation from the USA.
In his career, he worked very actively on large technology assignments in the field of Marketing Automation, Tech for Good platform, enterprise solutions, SAAS solutions, and consumer technology products.
He has been active for the past 7 years in the field of blockchain, NFT, UX, Data science and analytics, facial recognition products, and AI/ML.
Commenting on the appointment, Founder/ Group CEO, First Primus Mr Seni Adetu said: “We have consistently emphasised our intent at partnering with other leading marketing agencies in transforming the marketing communications standards in Nigeria. Hopefully, by bringing on board a seasoned Digital Marketing expert such as Vikas in service of that ambition, it is evident this is not business as usual.”
Speaking of his new role, Mr Parihar said, “In today’s connected world, we need a creative agency which focuses on customer experience and brings together big ideas, technology, and data. These ingredients are key to creating compelling and engaging personal experiences that help win more customers and make them more valuable. And this is what I look forward to building at First Primus Nigeria.”
Dipo Olowookere