Leo Burnett India Elevate Sachin Kamble and Vikram Pandey to Chief Creative Officers
Leo Burnett India, a division of Publicis Groupe India, has announced a change in senior creative leadership with the promotion of Vikram Pandey and Sachin Kamble from national creative directors to chief creative officers for Leo Burnett South Asia. They continue to report to Rajdeepak Das, Chairman of Leo Burnett – South Asia and Chief Creative Officer (CCO) of Publicis Groupe – South Asia.
Sachin and Vikram promoted to chief creative officers
Sachin and Vikram, as National Creative Directors, have played a crucial role in Leo Burnett India’s success story, which has included the company winning awards for its exceptional work on both national and international stages. In their roles as Chief Creative Officers, they will oversee the agency’s creative expansion in each of its three offices—Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru—in order to improve the quality of its work and support the agency’s strategic goals.
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Vikram has spent the last sixteen years working for Leo Burnett. Over the years, he has been tasked with producing work that has disrupted markets and redefined categories. Examples of his work include the launch and creation of Spotify in India, the modern insurance brand Acko, and, most recently, the development of Airtel’s 175 Replayed campaign. He began his career at Leo Burnett as a junior copywriter.
Sachin has been with Leo Burnett for nearly ten years and has contributed to some of the agency’s most notable projects, such as the Bajaj V campaign, for which Leo Burnett won the Cannes Lions for the first time ever in India.
Here’s what they said
Commenting on the announcement Rajdeepak Das, CCO, Publicis Groupe – South Asia and chairman Leo Burnett – South Asia said,
“This is a huge moment for Leo Burnett. Sachin Kamble and Vikram Pandey have both spent years alongside me enhancing our creative talent. They have been my co-conspirators as we led Leo Burnett to its current glory. As leaders, they exemplify the Leo Burnett value system, centred around people and purpose, powered by creativity to deliver impactful work for our clients. There are no two better individuals to lead Leo Burnett’s creative growth and I am looking forward to seeing them create even more magic together.”
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Amitesh Rao, CEO Leo Burnett – South Asia commented,
“We have always believed in offering growth opportunities to our people and both Vikram and Sachin have proven themselves to be incredible talents, well deserving of the promotion. Their calibre and commitment to creative excellence sets them apart from their peers and I am delighted to recognise their leadership as chief creative officers.”
Speaking about the elevation Sachin Kamble, CCO, Leo Burnett – South Asia said,
“For the past decade, we’ve invested heavily in cultivating a creative culture. Our vision is clear: to be the best in the world by prioritising new-age work and championing young talent. For us at Leo Burnet, everything revolves around our Humankind work ethos and ideas which will impact a billion. I’m incredibly excited to take on this new role and feel fortunate to have an exceptionally talented co-captain for this journey.”
Adding further Vikram Pandey, CCO, Leo Burnett – South Asia stated,
“We’ve had a really good run in last 3-4 years. We’ve won top honours at all international award shows, we manage some of the biggest businesses and most sought-after brands, and we have an enviable, talented bunch working with us. I feel we are completely aligned to deliver on the promise of modern creativity and I am absolutely delighted to lead it from the front. There couldn’t be a better partner to do this with, than Sachin, we both go back a long way and the next chapter is only going to be most interesting.”
Read More: Anirban Roy Joins Leo Burnett India as Chief Strategy Officer
Anirban Roy Joins Leo Burnett India as Chief Strategy Officer
Anirban Roy was appointed Chief Strategy Officer at Leo Burnett India, a division of Publicis Groupe India, bolstering the senior leadership team. Roy will be reporting to Amitesh Rao, CEO of Leo Burnett, South Asia. The agency’s remarkable expansion and success in India has led to his appointment.
Leo Burnett India ropes in Anirban Roy as Chief Strategy Officer
Anirban is renowned for his ability to steer brands and challenge the status quo by keeping things straightforward but powerful. He has twenty-one years of experience working for some of the largest companies, such as Ogilvy, McCann, and most recently Wieden & Kennedy, where he was Head of Strategy in India.
Throughout his professional life, he has guided brands like Amazon, Maggi, Jio 5G, Titan, Yum Foods, Coke, Sprite, and Bingo!, to mention a few. His articles have appeared in The Drum, Economic Times, and WARC. His work has won accolades from D&AD, the AMEs, Cannes, and the Effies.
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Here’s what they said
Commenting on the announcement, Amitesh Rao, CEO, Leo Burnett, South Asia shared,
“The appointment of Anirban is a significant milestone for the agency as it brings together cohesive strategic leadership to Leo Burnett which will play a critical role in our growth ambitions. Anirban brings a wealth of experience, great leadership acumen and a tenacious commitment to excellence which will not only benefit our existing brand partners but help us drive our new business growth plans. He has a proven track record of success, and I am sure that given our diverse set of brands, partnered with his expertise, will set the bar high for the future.”
Rajdeepak Das, CCO, Publicis Groupe, South Asia and chairman, Leo Burnett, South Asia further added,
“What sets Leo Burnett India apart is our approach to creativity – which has always been rooted in people and purpose. Anirban’s appointment reinforces our commitment to our strategic approach to creativity. I would like to welcome Anirban to the Leo Burnett family.”
Commenting on his appointment, Anirban Roy, chief strategy officer, Leo Burnett India commented,
“Leo Burnett is a remarkable brand which has steadily built a pool of top tier talent, creative momentum and has earned a reputation for doing award winning work that moves the market. These ingredients, along with the stellar leadership team & the enviable client roster is what drew me to Leo Burnett. I am excited to see what we can do together to unlock fame and growth for the brands we serve.”
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Rajeev Rakshit Joins Leo Burnett India As Executive Director, Bangalore
Publicis Groupe India subsidiary Leo Burnett India has announced Rajeev Rakshit’s appointment as executive director of Leo Burnett, Banglore. Rajeev is tasked with leading the agency to the next level in terms of talent, growth, client relationships, and solutions. He will report to Amitesh Rao, CEO, Leo Burnett – South Asia. The agency’s solid relationships with clients based in Bengaluru, such as Ikea, RedBus, Kingfisher, Heineken, Lenovo, Acko, and Flipkart, to mention a few, have contributed to the appointment.
leading the agency to the next level in terms of talent, growth, client relationships, and solutions
At Leo Burnett, Rajeev brings with him more than 25 years of practical experience in Upstream Marketing, Digital Strategy, Account Management, General Management, and Business Head (Country & Region). His most recent position was as managing partner and group CEO of Thinking Folks. It is a stand-alone provider of upstream marketing and advertising solutions. Throughout his career, Rajeev has held positions at Publicis Groupe’s L&K Saatchi & Saatchi, Leo Burnett, and Publicis.
Rajeev brings over two and half decades worth of hands on experience
As president of L&K Saatchi & Saatchi, he was responsible for advancing growth for the company’s top and bottom lines. The particular emphasis was on new business. As a member of the Management and Executive Committee, he was responsible for actively leading and expanding business opportunities for the agency’s Digital and Engagement arm in the northern markets.
He has also held positions at McCann Erickson India, Saregama (RPG Group), Everest Brand Solutions, and JWT/WPP (Global Team Ford), where he served as managing partner and head of GFT, an integrated agency formed exclusively for Ford.
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Here’s what they said
Amitesh Rao, CEO, Leo Burnett – South Asia said,
“Leo Burnett is a formidable creative force in Bengaluru with great momentum, energy and ambition, working with some incredible brands, and lucky to have some of the most talented people onboard. Rajeev comes with a distinctive blend of a future facing orientation, maturity and deep industry knowledge, and we are delighted to have him join us in building on the foundation of our Bengaluru operation to take it to greater heights.”
Rajdeepak Das, chief creative officer – Publicis Groupe, South Asia and Chairman – Leo Burnett, South Asia commented,
“The Bangalore team energy is infectious and we currently work with some of the best clients of India from there. We already have Pravin Sutar leading the creative mandate from Bangalore and together with Rajeev who comes with solid hands -on experience, and we are confident of building meaningful solutions for our client partners.”
Speaking about his appointment, Rajeev Rakshit, executive director, Leo Burnett Bangalore, remarked,
“Having had a substantive stint with Leo Burnett in the past, it feels like coming home. The agency’s inspired creativity, portfolio of iconic brands and numerous client success stories has resulted in its staggering momentum and I am excited to be a part of this journey. I have always admired Leo Burnett’s ability to reimagine and redefine industry norms and look forward to collaborating and contributing to propel the agency towards its next significant milestone.”
Leo Burnett India Secures Creative And Strategic Mandate for Birla Opus
Aditya Birla Group has partnered with Leo Burnett India, a division of Publicis Group. It has aligned its creative and strategic mandate in preparation for the launch of Birla Opus. It is one of its largest brands under Aditya Birla Group. Leo Burnett is in charge of leading the strategic, creative, and digital initiatives for their luxury and premium portfolio of brands. Additionally, it will create the brand architecture for Birla Opus, the company’s flagship brand. The multi-agency pitch was competitive, and the account was won. The Leo Burnett Mumbai team will handle it.
Leo Burnett India appointed as the creative and strategic agency for Birla Opus
Leo Burnett India, their communication partner, will develop the creative strategy. Furthermore, it will position its luxury and premium category brands, “Birla Opus,” “Birla Opus One,” and “Birla Opus Calista,” as well as for the overall brand under the interior, exterior, and enamel paints segments.
DDB Mudra secured the mandate for 4 other Birla Opus brands
The DDB Mudra Group declared last week that it had been awarded the mandate for four brands within the Birla Opus portfolio. Four brands in the Birla Opus portfolio—Style (a line of economical paints), AllWood (wood finishes), AllDry (waterproofing), and Prime (institutional)—have selected the agency as their creative partner.
With the introduction of “Birla Opus,” Aditya Birla Group makes an unprecedented INR 10,000 crore upfront investment. This is in the rapidly growing INR 70,000 crore Indian decorative paints market.
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Here’s what they said
Inderpreet Singh, Head, Marketing, Birla Opus, said,
“Birla Opus is a brand that is designed for today’s dynamic and audacious new India. Keeping this in mind we were looking for a partner who would be able to support our vision and craft a narrative that appeals to today’s audiences. We look forward to working with team Leo Burnett.”
Rajdeepak Das, CCO Publicis Groupe South Asia and Chairman Leo Burnett South Asia added,
“Birla Opus is undeniably one of the biggest Brand launches that the country will witness this year. But what’s more exciting for us at Leo Burnett is the drive to bring in the next revolution in the Paint category. We’ve found that the visionary, agile and nimble, Aditya Birla Group, is the perfect partner for creating such revolutions. At Burnett we believe in work that ‘Impacts a Billion’ and we know that Birla Opus with its brand vision will do just that.”
Abhimanyu Khedkar, Executive Director, Leo Burnett India stated,
“An opportunity to work on a brand like Birla Opus comes once in a while. We are excited to help shape the brands roadmap and create groundbreaking work at the cusp of culture, creativity, data, and technology.”
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