Mumbai: Wunderman Thompson South Asia Group has announced several new appointments to its planning team, with a view to enhancing strategic business solutions for brands and helping them improve brand engagement and customer experience. Nikhil Thakkar has been appointed as vice president & strategic planning director in Gurgaon, Richa Dholi has been appointed vice president - strategy planning in Mumbai and Antara Dey has joined the Kolkata office as account director.

Thakkar comes with 14 years of experience in market research, advertising and brand strategy. He has worked across diverse categories ranging from HFDs, mobility, white goods, and home furnishing to tech startups. Thakkar had worked with Wunderman Thompson for six years. Prior to joining back he had a stint with Leo Burnett where he led strategy for the Iodex and Airtel accounts.

Dholi is the strategy lead on Wunderman Thompson India's Unilever brands in Mumbai, lending her extensive experience in the marketing and digital ecosystem to the businesses. She has honed her strategic thinking and critical insights working with leading FMCG and lifestyle brands at Capgemini, Ogilvy, Lowe, McCann and most recently at India’s very own Twitter, Koo.

Dey comes with ten years of experience spanning multiple industries and categories. She has done time in the marketing function in organizations such as Matrix Clothing, Trujet Airlines, Tata Steel and Bennett & Coleman. And in her last assignment, she has worked with some blue-chip brands spanning categories such as foods, beverages, beauty, e-commerce and fashion.

Last year, another senior planner, Ayan Banik was appointed at the Kolkata office. With over 20 years of experience across some of the biggest and most respected agencies in the country, Banik joined as senior vice president - brand strategy. Working on an enviable repertoire of brands across diverse categories, Banik was also part of the core team that won the first-ever Cannes Glass Lion for both Cheil and Samsung India.

Commenting on the new appointments, Wunderman Thompson India chief strategy officer Pinaki Bhattacharya said, “The agency is at an exciting point in its transformation journey and finding strategists that fit our transformed purpose is a challenging one. We need them to have a robust understanding of brands, levers of brand growth, of consumer journeys and modern marketing. With a pulse on popular and emerging culture. And above all, they need to be interesting people. Not an easy mix to find, you would agree! Which is why I am delighted to have Thakkar, Dholi and Dey join the strategy team at Wunderman Thompson. In them, we have found just the kind of strategists we want. I am looking forward to working with them and to some really exciting work on the brands they are working on.”