Craig Hepburn leaves Microsoft to head up digital marketing at Tata Communications
Tata Communications, the telecoms arm of the Indian conglomerate, has wooed one of Microsoft’s top marketers Craig Hepburn to head up its digital marketing.
He will join in mid-January as vice-president of the digital marketing team that sits within the wider marketing department. Tata declined to share any further details on what Hepburn’s remit would be.
The appointment of one of the industry’s higher profile marketers is something of a coup for Tata Communications, which has admitted it has awareness problems outside of its homeland. It is likely Hepburn then will play a key role in tackling that issue, with the business having already snapped up major brands like Tetley and Jaguar Land Rover to increase its scope.
Hepburn joined Microsoft in 2014 as a result of its acquisition of Nokia’s mobile unit. He headed up Nokia’s global digital activity from 2010 and was one of the first marketers to feel confident enough to talk about social media when it became an advertising medium. Consequently, he played a key role in some of Nokia’s early gambles on the medium, including attempts to use social media to drive sales and not just awareness.