Rishad Tobaccowala is the CEO of Denuo, a futures "think-do" company that
helps its clients get to the future first in ways that make "tomorrow tangible
today". Denuo combines strategy, research, ideas, program management and
ventures to help clients as varied as Hewlett Packard, Kellogg's and DuPont and
also works with start-ups such as Bright Cove and Sling Media.
Tobaccowala simultaneously serves as Chief Innovation Officer of Publicis
Groupe Media (PGM). Formed in 2004, PGM is a management board that oversees two
major media networks: Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG) and Zenith Optimedia, which
together allocate over $45 billion in global media spending.
Prior to his current roles, Tobaccowala was the founder and President of SMG
Next, the first and most comprehensive futures practice in the media industry.
The development of SMG Next resulted in the launch of several successful
practices for SMG including: SMG Play, the first company to leverage videogames
as a marketing platform; word-of-mouth practice Reverb; and Digits, a leader in
mobile marketing. The TV 2.0 practice he developed focuses on the future of
consumer engagement with video marketing messages. Tobaccowala was also
responsible for developing SMG Search, which specializes in leveraging search
applications in new ways for leading spenders in the category, including
General Motors.
Before conceptualizing SMG NEXT, Tobaccowala was president and founder of
SMG IP, the digital and interactive arm of SMG. As such, he played a central
role in shaping the agency, which was selected by Media magazine as both 2002
and 2004 Interactive Agency of The Year.
Tobaccowala has over 25 years of marketing and strategy experience across a
wide spectrum of clients and companies. He was named by Business Week as one of
the top business leaders in 2005 for his pioneering innovation, and TIME
magazine once dubbed him one of five "Marketing Innovators." He was appointed
to Advertising Age's Interactive Hall of Fame; named Adweek's 2000 Media
All-Star for Interactive Media; dubbed OMMA magazine Media Strategist All-Star
for 2005; and named one of 2005's Best Leaders by BusinessWeek. He has written
for (or been featured in) a host of news outlets, including Wired, Business
Week, Fortune, Fast Company, MSNBC and Slate.
Tobaccowala is a much sought after speaker who has presented to several
board of directors and senior leaderships of companies as diverse as Nestle and
Reuters as well as at Industry events put together by Forbes, Microsoft,
Fairchild and many others.
In addition to the PGM board, Tobaccowala serves on the board of directors
of leading behavioral marketing firm Revenue Science, the next generation
search company Snap (an Idealab Company), Honeyshed (founded by David Droga)
and the Berlin School of Creative Leadership.
Tobaccowala holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of
Bombay and an M.B.A. from the Graduate School of Business at the University of
Chicago.
