Born a proud Mumbai-ite, Raj Kamble is a graduate of the Sir JJ School of Applied Art. He started his career at Enterprise Nexus/Lowe, Mumbai, where he went on to win half a dozen Clio Awards and three D&AD Silver Pencils in his formative years. He then moved to Lowe Howard Spink, London, where he worked on brands such as Stella Artois, Unilever, Nestle and Saab. After 2 years in London, he took up a new role as Creative Director at Lowe New York. His winning streak continued as he bagged One Show Gold and a Gold Lion at Cannes for his work for Stella Artois, Gillette and Light of Life Foundation. In 2010, he was hired by BBDO New York. His work titled ‘World’s Biggest Shave’ was talked about in the Financial Times, CNBC and the New York Times. After more than a decade in the business, Kamble moved back to his hometown, as the Managing Partner for BBH India where he handled accounts like Vaseline, Diageo, World Gold Council and Google Chrome, etc. He is now Founder and Chief Creative Officer at Famous Innovations. In 5 years since its inception, Famous has created some iconic innovations for several Indian and Global brands, is a three-time winner of South Asia Independent Agency of the Year by Campaign India and was listed among the World’s Leading Independent Agencies in 2016, 2017 and 2018. Raj has cumulatively won more than 150 global awards including at Cannes Lions, One Show, D&AD, the Clio Award, the Andy Awards, ADFEST and Art Directors Club. He has been jury at Cannes, One Show, Adfest, etc. He has given lectures at institutes such as the Kellogg Institute of Management and Columbia University. He also runs Miami Ad School in India. Most recently, he has been elected to the Board of Governors at IIM-Kozhikode.
Mithila Saraf joined Famous Innovations in 2012 before it had any employees, clients (or even laptops!) with the hope to make a real difference in the world of communications. She studied Economics and Communications at New York University, and spent her early career at top media houses like NBC New York, CNN-IBN and Education Times. At Famous, she has steered growth for brands like Raymond, Mahindra, Titan, Van Heusen, Zivame, Sobha, Swiggy, Wildcraft, etc. as well as for Famous as a brand itself. Mithila represented India globally at Cannes Young Lions 2016 and 2017, winning against over 250 participants. She was also nominated as the South Asia Young Achiever of 2016 and 2018 by Campaign South Asia. An IMPACT 30-under-30 winner, she was also featured in AdAge Rising Stars under 30. An active voice in the industry, she has spoken for gender equality and giving youth more opportunities in advertising on several forums. She has been on the jury for Effies India twice and is regularly published in advertising media like Campaign, IMPACT, Adage, etc.
Sumit is a chameleon. From classic to kitsch, his work is hard to classify. And that’s what makes him a one-of-a-kind art-director in the world of advertising. Born and raised on the internet he sees design and art as a way to capture shrinking attention spans. Over the course of 9 years his work has straddled industries like finance, confectionary, alcohol, television and real estate. An ever-curious creator he is always looking for his next challenge.
From journalism & politics to the gnarled galleries of Advertising, Mitali’s career is a journey that few in their right minds dare to take. An MBA, TV Reporter for Zee News, Senior Correspondent & Deputy Editor for a magazine, - it was a good seven years of thriving as a Journalist after which Mitali took the plunge into advertising.
Under her leadership, old-school brands became disruptive, large brands saw quick-turnarounds & entrepreneurial brands have joined the big league. She has been instrumental in transforming brands, impacting clients, directing businesses and leading effectiveness.
She is the first woman planner in Indian advertising who co founded a successfull ad agency called Utopeia and followed it up by another agency called Equal that specialised in CSR solutions. Mitali is shaping a new environment for women, one that breaks age-old locker-room culture and cultivates a new one that is conducive for women to grow without compromises.
Prior to steering the ship as an entrepreneur, she worked in DDB Mudra as Associate Vice President, across verticals of DDB India, DDB Health & Lifestyle, Rapp India & Tribal DDB. She has been instrumental in establishing brands like Volkswagon & Neutrogena in India. She has also worked at Ogilvy & Mather and TBWA India. An accomplished strategic planner, digital expert, trainer and researcher, she has undertaken in-depth thought leadership on various consumer groups and is ready to launch her first book. She also led the New Knowledge & Insights cell for Ogilvy. Her career spans over brands like, J&J, Reliance, Cadbury, Big Bazaar, Asian Paints, etc. Her awards include golds at Effies, AME, James Burke & Indian Marketing Awards. She is also a guest faculty member at Xavier’s Institute of Communication & St.Pauls Institute of Communication.
She gets bored with stereotypes and is currently writing a unique film script for AR Rahman.
Sandeep has over 30 + years of experience in the areas of Finance, Legal, Accounts and Commercial which includes approx. 24 years’ experience in Advertising Industry. Before Famous, he worked as Senior Manager Finance at Culture Machine Media (a Rainshine Group company) and as Director Finance at Helios Media. He has also worked with advertising companies viz. R K Swamy BBDO Pvt Ltd, DDB Mudra Group, Rediffussion DY & R and Cellcast Interactive India Pvt Ltd (a UK joint venture in India) as Head Commercial. Also having his major stint with Group M Media India Pvt Ltd and Enterprise Nexus Communications Pvt Ltd.
From large units to creative hot-shops, Melvin Jacob has learned to go media agnostic in close to two decades in advertising. Apart from working at Ogilvy and Lowe in two countries, he’s co-founded a digital content start-up and done memorable stints at RMG David and Propaganda India. Along the way, he’s worked in Malaysia, Dubai, Chennai and Bangalore and has handled brands like IKEA, Ford, Max Life Insurance, Singapore Tourism, Royal Enfield, MRF, Nivea, Nissan, QuickBooks, Britannia, Lenovo and IBM. He’s won India’s first ever Spikes Grand Prix for music, helped score an Independent Agency of the Year title and received appreciation from Ogilvy and Lowe Creative Councils. When he isn’t crafting the creative product, he jams with filmmakers, leads a rock band, teaches advertising in colleges and practices martial arts.
Tarvinder if you’re in a hurry, gave up a prospective career in mechanical engineering to join advertising. Thereby trading his apex position in the arranged marriage food-chain for pizza dinners in office, loud meetings, and economy class travel.
Not that he is complaining.
Over the last 22 years, 10 of them as an ECD, Tarvinder has worked in the best agencies of India, learning from the best in the world. A privilege that comes with its exclusive perk - a reasonably heavy accolade dossier. Cannes, D&AD Impact, The One Show, Epica, Spikes, Adfest, Tambuli, Ad Stars, and then some. Not to mention the odd Grand Prix and regular sightings in various ‘top creatives of India’ lists.
Though he’ll probably introduce himself as the one who wrote “Samsung - Service Van”, the most watched commercial on YouTube in 2017. He is populist that way.
Mansi is a perfect mix of strategic and business mind, born to be in the advertising field. She started her career with L&K Saatchi & Saatchi before moving onto FCB and finally settling at Famous where she has been working for almost six years now. Started as an Account Management person, Mansi gradually moved to Strategic planning to lead the strategy for some of the biggest brands in the organisation.
Some of the brands she partnered in this journey are Burger King, Platinum Guild International, Unilever, Pepperfry, Faces Canada, Haier, Livpure, D'Decor, Tata Salt, Zoiro, Thomascook etc. Recently she was featured in Impact's Top 30 under 30 list which recognises young achievers from the Advertising and Media industry. She has also been a part of the Effie jury last year, judging some of the most effective work from the industry alongside the industry stalwarts.