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Publicis Worldwide and Leo Burnett are now one, combining the strengths of 15,000 creative minds across 90 countries. Leo, the resulting entity, is where human insights and ideas will be amplified by the data and technology to do more, faster, everywhere.
Publicis Groupe CEO Arthur Sadoun defined Leo as “a new modern creative constellation of awarded talents that brings together the human vision of the Leo Burnett Network and the innovation of the Publicis Worldwide”. He further explained that Leo will bring together the creative power of the most recognisable name in advertising with the roar of a lion.
Globally, Leo will be led by the team that made Publicis Conseil the Cannes Lions 2024 Agency of the Year. Marco Venturelli and Agathe Bousquet will be Leo’s co-presidents, and Gareth Goodall the chief strategy officer.
In India, no leadership changes or organisational restructuring has been announced yet. As per the global announcement, leadership structures at a local level will remain unchanged, and no immediate departures from leadership teams are planned.
Let’s meet the team set to drive Leo’s strategic vision and creative innovation in India.
Rajdeepak Das
Chairman, Leo Burnett - South Asia & CCO Publicis Groupe - South Asia
With over 17 years of experience working on brands across categories, Raj is the Chief Creative Officer of the Leo Group across South Asia, looking after creative operations in 7 offices across 4 countries. Under his leadership, the Leo Group in India, home to 1000+ creators and innovators, works with some of the biggest brands, including, Amazon, Bajaj, Thums Up, Limca, Maaza, HDFC Bank, HDFC Life, Tata Capital, General Mills, OLX, P&G, McDonald's, Wipro, Jeep, HPCL and GSK. Over his career at Leo Burnett, Das has led teams who have won 20 Cannes Lions, including the Cannes Effectiveness Gold for the Bajaj V - The Nation's Bike campaign and a Cannes Innovation Silver for HP Lubricants - Roads that Honk campaign.
Amitesh Rao
CEO, Leo Burnett South Asia
Amitesh Rao is a business leader and marketing professional with over 24 years of experience. He was appointed the CEO of Leo Burnett South Asia in 2024. He believes that winning strategies in today’s markets rely on stretching the boundaries of traditional marketing and strategic thinking. Before becoming a part of the Publicis Groupe, he headed the North and West Operations as the Executive Director at McCann India. Prior to this role, Rao held top positions at TBWA, Rediffusion and JWT. As an advertiser, he has led the work for marquee clients such as PepsiCo, Airtel, Nestlé, Reckitt, Coke, Mastercard and Nissan. At Leo, he also provides oversight on Publicis Health and Publicis Business.
Paritosh Srivastava
Chief Executive Officer, Publicis India
Paritosh Srivastava, the CEO of L&K Saatchi & Saatchi was appointed to also lead operations at Publicis (Worldwide) India in 2022. He is also at the helm of Saatchi Propagate and Publicis Beehive. Publicis Worldwide India works with an impressive roster of clients such as Citibank, Zee, Heineken, SKODA, Linen Club, Times Television Network, Ferrero, Enamor, HDFC Mutual Funds and Kalpataru. Under Srivastava’s leadership, Publicis has achieved remarkable success.
Oindrila Roy
Managing Director, Publicis Worldwide India
With over 25 years of marketing experience, Oindrila Roy leads a team of over 100 experts as the Managing Director of Publicis Worldwide India, delivering creative and strategic solutions across platforms and channels. She has previously held leadership positions at Essence (GroupM), Leo Burnett, Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance, Saatchi & Saatchi and JWT. She is known for her expertise in driving business growth, building impactful brands, and crafting data-driven marketing strategies that resonate with audiences. Roy is passionate about helping brands navigate the complex landscape of marketing, and inspiring and empowering her team to excel.
Vikram Pandey
Chief Creative Officer, Leo Burnett South Asia
Vikram Pandey, also known as ‘Spiky’ in advertising circles, was elevated to the role of Chief Creative Officer at Leo Burnett South Asia in 2024. Prior to this role, he served as the National Creative Director at Leo Burnett India, where he played a key role in the company's success by leading teams to win both national and international awards. Pandey started at Leo Burnett as a Junior Copywriter and, over the years, has gone on to create market-moving, category-redefining works like launching and creating the Spotify brand in India, making Acko a new-age insurance brand, and developing Airtel's 175 Replayed, one of Leo Burnett's most awarded campaigns.
Sachin Kamble
Chief Creative Officer, Leo Burnett South Asia
Sachin Kamble became the Chief Creative Officer at Leo Burnett South Asia in 2024, after serving as the National Creative Director at Leo Burnett India. He has been with Leo Burnett for over a decade, being instrumental in creating some of the agency's biggest work, including the Bajaj V campaign for which Leo Burnett won India's first effectiveness award at the prestigious Cannes Lions. Previously, he had held leadership positions at J. Walter Thompson Worldwide, DDB Mudra Group and Ogilvy. Kamble is an alumnus of Sir J J School of Arts.
Aman Mannan
National Creative Director, Publicis India
With over 25 years of experience in advertising and screenwriting, Aman Mannan leads the creative mandate at Publicis India as the National Creative Director. He oversees the creative output for clients across diverse categories, including finance, fashion, news channels, GEC channels, banks, and engineering. Mannan believes in building brands with a multidisciplinary approach. He has previously held leadership positions at Leo Burnett, DDB Mudra Group, McCann Erickson and Interface Communications. Mannan has worked with brands across categories - Unilever, P&G, Mahindra and Mahindra, Radio Mirchi, Marico, HDFC Bank, HDFC Life, Union Bank, Future Brands, Reliance, JBL, Myntra and Craftsvilla.
Shitu Patil
National Creative Director, Publicis India
Shitu Patil is a dynamic creative leader with 23 years of advertising and branding experience. Prior to joining Publicis India as the National Creative Director, she was the National Head Of Art & ECD at L&K Saatchi & Saatchi. She previously worked with agencies such as Lowe Lintas and FCB Ulka and even ran her own design agency, Plus One, for a decade. Patil has worked with Indian brands such as Raymond, Future Group, Flipkart, Motorola, Femina Flaunt Salon, Arvind, Blackberrys, CreamBell, The Wadia Group, Godfrey Phillips India Ltd, TGL Co., Tea Culture Of The World, Real Me, Andamen, Azva, Galanz and VNC Group.
Anirban Roy
Chief Strategy Officer at Leo Burnett India
Anirban Roy was appointed as Chief Strategy Officer at Leo Burnett India in April last year. He is known for his ability to challenge status quo and steer brands by keeping things simple yet impactful. Roy has worked for more than two decades across organisations like Ogilvy, McCann, and Wieden & Kennedy. He has steered brands such as Amazon, Maggi, Jio 5G, Titan, BMW, Yum Foods, Coke, Sprite and Bingo!
The Publicis Worldwide and Leo Burnett merger follows closely on the heels of the announcement of Omnicom’s acquisition of The Interpublic Group of Companies. The OMG-IPG merger will strengthen the combined company’s market position in India, placing it between GroupM and Publicis Media. With Leo’s formation, the industry trend of mergers and acquisitions focused on strategically combining creativity with technology is becoming more prominent. In the coming months, this trend may further reshape the advertising and marketing landscape.
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