Genesis Burson-Marsteller Announces Senior Appointment Vijay Sankaran as Director, Digital Strategy

Genesis Burson-Marsteller announces the appointment of Vijay Sankaran as Director, Digital Strategy, heading GBM Digital Studio, a Centre of Expertise that provides specialised services and counsel to meet the needs of our clients.

“Vijay’s appointment reflects Burson-Marsteller’s commitment to strengthen focus on building digital strategies that meet the needs of our clients. Vijay is a key addition to our leadership team and he will provide critical support in articulating digital concepts and solutions in a clear and compelling way to our clients.” says Nikhil Dey, President, Genesis Burson-Marsteller, India & South Asia.

Yu Yu Din, currently Head of Digital, is relocating to her home country, Myanmar. She will be moving on from the consultancy by the end of 2014. Vijay will spearhead GBM Digital Studio and drive the opportunity space for Genesis Burson-Marsteller and its clients’ digital presence; creating innovative ideas that bridge digital and public relations as well as digital and marketing, to provide solutions and services that are driven by consumer insights. GBM Digital Studio comprises of a strong team of digital strategists, creative specialists working on digital and social media mandates for clients across corporate and financial, brand and consumer, telecom and technology, and health and wellness practices.

Commenting on his new role, Vijay says, “Digital is a force multiplier for our business of integrated communications. Genesis Burson-Marsteller has successfully embedded digital strategists in each practice to drive campaigns for our clients. My focus is to take our solutions to the next level with strategic and creative programmes that go beyond siloed social platforms. I am very excited about our unique GBM Live! Newsroom - a cross-functional team led service that delivers real-time media and social insights to help create more agile content and act as a crisis management command centre. Digital will also be supported by GBM Content and Design Bureau, another Centre of Expertise at GBM, for multimedia content, with a team of in-house specialists that include graphic designers, former TV producers, editors and videographers.”

A seasoned communications professional, Vijay brings with him a wealth of 25 years’ experience, spanning advertising, digital marketing, public relations and social media. Before joining Genesis Burson-Marsteller, Vijay worked with Social Wavelength, a social media agency as Director, Digital Strategy and Planning. He has also worked with Edelman PR as Head Digital and Nokia Siemens Network as Head Social Media, a global role. At Urja Communications, he started as an advertising Creative Director, reinvented himself as an Interactive Creative Director and digital evangelist during the dotcom era, helping drive the agency’s transformation into a full-service digital agency. He later moved into a pure digital strategy role.