Y&R promotes Ramanathan

Y&R's regional strategy director Hari Ramanathan (pictured) has been promoted to the role of chief strategy officer at Y&R Asia. Ramanathan will oversee the continuing focus on strategy, with strategy being the foundation behind the network's creativity.He will lead strategy across Asia and work with both the planning teams and office leaders in enhancing the strategic leadership.  Based in Singapore, he will report directly to Matthew Godfrey.Ramanathan said: "We have two simple beliefs, firstly to ensure that strategy isn't just a department in the agency but a culture - from creative to account management everyone must have strategy as a key focus."He added that the second belief is that to be the consumer's "voice on the table", and to ensure that consumer truths are at the centre of the agency's work.In the recent years, Y &R has also put emphasis on consumer insights and strategy as key components of the network's offering, starting with the first Generation Asia, the world's largest study on Asians aged 18-35, said the agency.