Ashok Kurien - Chairman
Ashok has been in the business of building brands for the over 35 years now, particularly in the fields of media and communications. Ashok Kurien has the keen eye of an eagle – recognising opportunities in emerging businesses, such as TV, lottery, PR and dot coms, where he invested in properties which have been resounding success stories.

He started his career with Advertising Concessionaries Pvt. Ltd. in 1972 after completing his graduation.

After two years in his first job, he moved to Rediffusion and worked there for 12 years before forming Ambience Advertising in 1987. Ambience is now a Rs. 100 crore company.

As a co-founder of Zee TV, Ashok has been instrumental in bringing about the television revolution in the country. Today, he is associated with the media house as its Director.

Ashok is the founder member and Chairman of Hanmer & Partners. He commands great respect in the industry for his entrepreneurial abilities, business acumen and vision.

Sunil Gautam – Managing Director
(Email:sunilgautam@hanmerpr.com / sunilgautam@hanmergroup.com)

Chartered Accountancy as a qualification has never dampened his deep love for the business of communications. The fire burns bright even after 27 years in the profession!

Having started Clea in 1985, Sunil took it to becoming the top financial ad agency for six consecutive years and the seventh largest advertising agency in the country. His stint with the other crucial component of communications – PR, started in 1995 when he set up Clea PR. After taking Clea to great heights, Sunil set up Hanmer & Partners with the vision of making it an organization that stands out from the others by the sheer quality and variety offered in every aspect of its business. Hanmer & Partners is today India's top agency offering 360 degree communications solutions to over 150 clients including several conglomerates and MNCs.

Individually, Sunil has worked with over 600 corporate houses spread across 80 industry verticals during his tenure.

Jaideep Shergill - Partner - Member Corporate Leadership Team
(Email:jaideep@hanmerpr.com / jaideep@hanmergroup.com )

Jaideep, a management graduate with a master’s degree in international business, has over 11 years of work experience.

Jaideep has been with Hanmer & Partners since inception and was in charge of account management, driving client servicing teams and media relations for all clients in his capacity as Chief Operating Officer, Hanmer PR and Hanmer Interactive.

Jaideep has tremendous exposure to the diversified clientele and has mastered various nuances of the communications industry.

Besides being in overall command of the PR division, Jaideep is responsible for Hanmer Group’s Knowledge Management Cell. He is also in charge of the operations of Archer Freres.

Sapna Kar - Partner - Member Corporate Leadership Team
(Email:sapna@hanmerpr.com / sapna@hanmergroup.com / sapna@hanmerevents.com)

Sapna has a degree in Marketing Management and over 15 years of experience in media marketing – spanning print, television & events. She led the Hanmer Events team as the Chief Operating Officer.

Sapna has had a long stint with The Times of India Group and worked on the marketing of various dailies and magazines during her tenure like The Times of India, The Economic Times and Femina. She was part of the core events team, handling prestigious mega events like the Femina Miss India and Filmfare Awards.

Besides print media, Sapna has earned exposure and experience in marketing the electronic media while being the Mumbai Sales head at AXN - the 24 hour action channel from the Sony Entertainment stable. Sapna has been a Consultant to Wizcraft event management company where she was solely responsible for the India marketing of the IIFA Awards. The IIFA Awards is an Indian cinema property, generating US $ 3 million annually and has been held at several prime locations in both India and abroad.

Sapna heads Hanmer Events and is also responsible for Hanmer Group's HR division.

Amit Desai - Partner - Member Corporate Leadership Team
(Email:amit@hanmergroup.com / amit@hanmeradvertising.com)

Amit is a management graduate with a master's degree in marketing and specialization in market research. He has over 11 years of proficient work experience in the field of advertising. He started Aashin Communications Private Limited under the leadership of Mr. Sunil Gautam in January 2000, the advertising arm of Hanmer Group.

Amit heads Hanmer Advertising and is in charge of the Hanmer Group's IT backbone.

Vijay Kumar Swami - Sr. Vice President
(Email:vijayswami@hanmeradvertising.com)

Vijay is a communications pro having 17 years of experience in advertising, PR, events, corporate communications and marketing of various products with demonstrated initiatives in running profit centers. He is skillfully adept at brand and account management, research and strategic planning besides media buying and planning. He is also at ease at handling national media relations besides being focused at planning and managing PR clients across verticals.

Vijay has handled multi-functional responsibilities across various communication spears - financial, corporate and consumer. He has played senior management roles in advertising majors like Publicis India, Fortune Communications (JWT Group), Imageads & Communications besides spearheading international and domestic marketing initiatives in Managed Care Company (Part of Munich RE Group, Germany).

Kartik Upadhyay - Vice President & Head - Archer Freres
(Email:kartik@hanmerpr.com)

Kartik has joined Hanmer PR with over 13 years of hardcore PR and Corporate Communications experience. He drove a number of IT & Telecom and Media & Entertainment accounts.

A Post Graduate in English Literature and Journalism, Kartik has worked with some of the famous brands such as Orange, Singapore Tourism Board and Intel, among others.

Kartik has been associated with some of the leading public relations agencies at various levels. On the corporate side, Kartik has worked with Otis Elevators and Sify Ltd.

Kartik currently heads the Mumbai operations of Archer Freres, a sister agency of Hanmer PR under the diversified Hanmer umbrella.

Onassis Vaz - Vice President & Head - Financial Services & Investor Relations
(Email:onassis@hanmerpr.com)

With over 18 years of experience in the PR and communications industry, Onassis is a thoroughbred communications professional be it advertising, media buying, events or public relations. He has handled various Financial Brands like Franklin Templeton, UTI, IDBI, Global Trust Bank, Standard Bank London and MoneyGram International and developed strategy and direction for brands such as Pepe, Eureka Forbes, Honda Motors, Skoda Auto, Adani Wilmar. Onassis is also adept at managing crisis for clients like Suzlon Wind Energy, Venkys India and many more.

With a national media exposure coupled with a knack to develop partnerships and networking with International agencies like Upstream Asia, Hong Kong and Kingsbury Adams, Australia, Onassis has a vast experience of working with International clients.

Glen D’souza - Vice President & Practice Head - Consumer Brands
(Email:glen@hanmerpr.com)

Glen D’Souza is a commerce graduate with a Diploma in Business Management. He has a been with Hanmer & Partners since 2000.

He heads a number of corporate, aviation, brand and healthcare clients and is proficient in handling media relations and crisis communications.

With over 10 years of experience, he currently manages accounts across verticles like LG Electronics India Private Limited, CNBC-TV18, Tata Sky, London Unlimited, Sanofi-Aventis, India Medtronic (P) Limited, Emirates Airline, Discovery Channel, Western Australia Trade & Education Office, Kinetic Motors Limited, General Motors etc. to name a few.

Sandeep Raj Singh - Head - PR (North) & Practice Head - Telecom
(Email:sandeepsingh@hanmerpr.com)

Sandeep heads the Northern operations of Hanmer & Partners and is in charge of diversified accounts like Discovery Networks, LG Electronics, General Motors, Apollo International and SRF Ltd., amongst others.

A post graduate in communications from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, Sandeep has over nine years of public relations experience across India in Mumbai, Bangalore and now in New Delhi.

He has experience in handling clients from various domains such as Investment Banking, Mutual Funds, Automobiles, Tourism, Telecom, Hospitality, Infrastructure, Media and Information Technology.

Varghese Cherian - Vice President - South & Practice Head - IT
(Email:varghese@hanmerpr.com)

Starting his career with one of the global leaders in the pharmaceutical industry in Sales and Marketing, Varghese joined a start-up PR firm in Chennai and helped established this firm in its initial stages. He has also headed the Corporate Communications function of a leading IT firm head quartered out of Chicago.

He joined Hanmer & Partners in April, 2005 as Asst. Vice President and is based out of Chennai. A Specialist in Technology, Financial and Brand PR, he has more than a decade of hardcore experience in handling corporate reputation management programs, investor relations & financial PR, strategic planning and crisis management at various levels.

He has a Master's degree in Statistics from the University of Madras and a Post Graduate Diploma in Marketing Management from IGNOU. He has also done a course in Computer Applications. Being a statistician with a management background, his strengths are in logical thinking, strategic planning with a strong business outlook.

Vinay Sharma - Head - Hanmer Reach
(Email:vinay@hanmerpr.com)

Vinay conceptualized and successfully set up Hanmer Reach, India's first regional PR agency with a strong focus on rural India. He has brought rich dividends for clients with his path-breaking PR and CSR initiatives & leveraging of popular local events like fairs, cultural  & regional sports festivals. His deep understanding of the rural, Tier 2 & Tier 3 markets across India is the foundation for the success story that is Hanmer Reach.

He joined Hanmer family in May 2002, Crossed over to Public Relations in June 1996 when he joined Shaan PR in Chandhgarh and single-handedly managed brands like Pepsi, IDBI, Chandigarh Tourism, Tata Infotech etc. He start his career from Dairy Industry, handled state government brand “PARAG”, which helps him lot to understand rural India.