Board of Directors

Rishad Tobaccowala

CEO, Denuo

Despite being dubbed one of five "Marketing Innovators" by TIME magazine, Rishad Tobaccowala doesn't fancy himself a pacesetter as much as a simple idea man. As such, he sits atop a high-velocity idea incubator and catalyst known as SMG Next, the first and most comprehensive futures practice in the media services industry. He is also the president of SMG IP, a digital communication agency that specializes in Internet contact strategy, execution, and measurement. His vision and expertise have played a central role in shaping SMG IP into one of the largest digital communications agencies based on IP media in the country, selected by Media magazine as the 2002 Interactive Agency of The Year. Additionally, he serves as a board member of Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG), the parent holding company of SMG IP, and is a member of its executive committee.

Tobaccowala helped found SMG IP in January of 1999, in order to harness the revolutionary marketing opportunities made possible by Internet Protocol and other emerging technologies. Under his leadership, SMG IP has grown by 500% and has amassed an impressive roster of clients which includes Network Solutions, U.S. Army, Allstate, Kellogg, and Miller Brewing. Within the past two years, Tobaccowala initiated the launch of two new, innovative practices as part of SMG Next: TV 2.0 and SMG Play. TV 2.0 focuses on the future of television media including Interactive TV and Personal Video Recorders (PVRs). Play focuses on leveraging gaming as a contact point. He is also currently incubating a wireless practice and a word-of-mouth contact company inside of SMG.

Tobaccowala brings 21 years of marketing and strategy experience across a wide spectrum of clients and companies to SMG IP. From 1996 to 1998, Tobaccowala was the president of Giant Step, Leo Burnett's interactive subsidiary. In that time, he helped grow Giant Step from an eight-person to a 100-person firm, with such blue-chip clients as United Airlines, Maytag Corp., Procter & Gamble, and General Motors.

His other experiences include founder and director of Leo Burnett's Interactive Marketing Group, director of Direct Marketing, as well as nearly a decade in account service roles on a range of clients from Heinz to Procter & Gamble. He began his career as a media buyer/planner in 1982.

Tobaccowala is an actively involved participant in many industry forums including the Interactive Advertising Bureau and Online Publishers Association. He is on the Interactive Committee of the American Association of Advertising Agencies and serves on the advisory boards of many companies including Yahoo! and MSN. In addition, he has written for (or been featured in) a host of news outlets, including Fortune, Fast Company, MSNBC, Slate, and Context. He was named to Advertising Age's Interactive Hall of Fame and was selected as Adweek's 2000 Media All-Star for Interactive Media.

He holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of Bombay and an MBA from the Graduate School of Business at the University of Chicago. When he is not on a plane traveling around the world on business, Tobaccowala can be found with his wife and two daughters, who constantly show him his place.

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