The Economist appoints Suprio Guha Thakurta as Associate Publisher

Nov. 19, 2007 - PRLog -- Suprio joins from Lintas Personal where he was President, and will be responsible for implementing The Economist’s business strategy in India, by growing both circulation and advertising sales.

The appointment of Suprio 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.

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.  This audience is very attractive to an increasing number of Indian companies who 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 Suprio.  

On the editorial side, 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 in Delhi.

Tim Pinnegar, Publisher Asia Pacific said ‘We are delighted to have Suprio on board.  India is key to our growth targets in Asia and to our global strategy and we look forward to raising The Economist’s profile in the media landscape and growing our business in this market.’

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.

For further information please call:

Tim Pinnegar, Publisher, Asia Pacific on +65 6428 2660 (Singapore) or Jacqui Kean, Global Brand Communications Director on +44 (0) 207 830 7121 (London).

About The Economist  (www.economist.com)

The Economist is a weekly magazine offering timely reporting, concise commentary and comprehensive analysis of global news. With objective authority, clarity and wit, The Economist presents the world's political, business, scientific, technological and cultural affairs and the connections between them. Because of its global editorial perspective, it is read by more of the world's political and business leaders than any other magazine. After 26 years of continuous global growth, The Economist has a worldwide print circulation of more than 1.2 million. The Economist’s circulation in Asia is 125,000 and in India it is 17,000.