Cheil SWA elevates Kumar Awanish as group’s COO

Cheil South West Asia (SWA) has announced the elevation of Kumar Awanish to group’s Chief Operating Officer (COO). In his new role, he will oversee the group’s operational strategy.

Kumar Awanish previously served as Chief Growth Officer and will report to the recently appointed President & CEO, Sungkyoon Kim. Based at the agency’s Gurugram office, he will support the organisation’s next phase of development.

In his expanded remit, Kumar Awanish will also contribute to the agency’s ongoing digital transformation, helping to integrate technology and data more closely with its creative capabilities to deliver practical and future-oriented solutions for clients.

Sungkyoon Kim said, “Cheil SWA is ushering a new phase of advertising transformation led by AI. Kumar Awanish has the right skill set and experience to lead the group into this dynamic journey. He is passionate about Cheil SWA group and his enthusiasm for work is contagious. I wish him the best in his new role and looking forward to his second innings at Cheil SWA group”

Kumar Awanish has over two decades of experience in advertising and marketing, working across technology, data and brand-led growth initiatives. His career spans both agency and client-side roles, with a focus on digital transformation and business performance.

Prior to his current role, he served as Chief Growth Officer at Cheil India, where he led a team of more than 100 specialists. Earlier in his career, he held roles with organisations including Airtel, Snapdeal, Times Internet, GroupM and Oppo.

Kumar Awanish added,” I am incredibly grateful to our global and local leadership for their trust in me to drive our vision forward. We are on a mission to double down on AI literacy across all functions and group agencies, empowering our people to use AI not just for efficiency, but as a catalyst for human creativity.  By blending advanced capabilities, with human ingenuity, we are architecting the future of Cheil SWA. This evolution is strengthened by the reunion of media and creative, ensuring that an agency of our scale remains agile and delivers the holistic, full-funnel impact our clients deserve.”