KRDS SG partner Preetham Venkky heads over to DDB Mudra Group in India

Independent social media agency KRDS Singapore's partner and director Preetham Venkky has joined DDB Mudra Group as chief digital officer and president of 22feet Tribal Worldwide. Based in Bangalore, his mandate will include scaling the company’s offerings by developing broad external partnerships, building out internal infrastructures and exploring new business opportunities.

He brings with him over 20 years of experience in markets across Asia including Hong Kong and China. Venkky joined KRDS in 2011 and under his leadership, the independent agency worked on notable brands such as Singapore Airlines, DBS, OCBC, AIA, Prudential, CapitaLand, Singapore Tourism Board, P&G, J&J, HP and Facebook.

In a conversation with Marketing on his new role, Venkky said DDB Mudra has a commendable legacy and a history of creative work to match, and this comes down to the people at the end of the day. He added:

Every interaction I had with the team only got me closer to making the decision faster.

Venkky was in the past worked in Bangalore, helming the role of head of production with info-comm tech company Sify in 2006. Lauding India for crossing the 500m mark for internet users, he said that as the head of 22feet Tribal Worldwide, he aims for the organisation to make a mark in the coming decade and move a few industry KPIs while at it.

"In the last three years, there’s been something truly different about the digital ecosystem in India. It’s supercharged. The market has the potential to do something truly unique to its inherent needs and requirements. Coming back to India and being part of a major player in the ecosystem was too exciting an opportunity for me to pass," he added.

However, it was not an easy feat to leave KRDS after close to a decade. "Leaving KRDS was one of the hardest decisions to make, but the fact is we had done quite well on every metric – topline, bottomline, client-line and awards-line. When I was leaving, we were already a leading independent agency in an extremely short span," he said, and was quick to add:

It’s nice to ride into the sunset when it’s at its peak and look to take on a whole new challenge.

"On a trip to India a year back, I saw that there was a thriving digital ecosystem but not a strong offering from agencies. There was a lot that could be done in India, and it felt different somehow. It felt like a whole new world had opened up, filled with possibilities. KRDS was indeed my baby and it was time to leave the nest but in this instance, it was me leaving," Venkky said.

Aditya Kanthy, MD and CEO, DDB Mudra Group said Venkky will play a critical role in effectively bringing insight, creativity and brand building together with digital marketing and experience design. “Being a serial entrepreneur who built his first angel founded startup at the age of 19 and then scaling KRDS from a fledgling to working with majority of Fortune 50 companies in Singapore, is nothing short of phenomenal. This is where Venkky’s commitment to building creative culture and leveraging technology and data will drive business growth for our clients,” he added.