Economist appoints Mumbai AP, pushes for aggressive growth

The Economist has appointed Suprio Guha Thakurta to the role of Mumbai-based associate publisher to push an aggressive growth agenda for the title with India at the forefront.

Guha Thakurta is the former president of Lintas Personal and will be responsible for implementing The Economist's business strategy in India, by growing both circulation and advertising sales. The Economist currently circulates 17,000 in India.
The appointment of Guha Thakurta is the first stage in The Economist's significant investment plan which aims to increase circulation from 17,000 currently to 50,000 over the next two years.

Tim Pinnegar publisher Asia Pacific said: "The Economist is read by 368,000 people in
Asia Pacific and we are seeing a steady rise in circulation. Asia's economies continue to
defy gravity, and our special reports on the region are clearly hitting the right note with
our readers. India is key to our coverage and growth targets in Asia and to our global
strategy and we are delighted to have Suprio on board. We look forward to raising The
Economist's profile and growing our business in this market."

The Economist "has identified and aims to grow an influential, intellectually curious
audience who are looking for the unique perspective and analysis that the magazine
brings to global business, politics, science and technology".

The magazine says this audience is very attractive to an increasing number of Indian companies which are looking to build their brands domestically and on the world stage and want to reach this elusive audience of senior decision-makers, influencers and affluent consumers.

The Economist will continue to run its advertising sales operation in partnership with Business India. Ashok Dey and his Economist sales team at Business India will report to Guha Thakurta.

The Economist has two correspondents based in India, James Astill who covers Politics and newly appointed Simon Cox who will cover Business and Finance.

The Economist's sister company, The Economist Intelligence Unit, a provider of global business analysis, is also expanding its operations in India and has set up an office inDelhi.

The Economist is currently working with Ogilvy and Mindshare in Mumbai to develop an integrated marketing campaign - due to break mid-Feb - to raise awareness of The Economist brand amongst readers, advertisers and media agencies.