Sachin Kamble and Vikram PandeyLeo Burnett India, part of the Publicis Groupe India has announced changes to its senior creative leadership with the elevation of Vikram Pandey and Sachin Kamble from national creative directors to chief creative officers for Leo Burnett, South Asia. They will continue to report into Rajdeepak Das – chief creative officer (CCO), Publics Groupe – South Asia and chairman, Leo Burnett – South Asia.
As national creative directors, Kamble and Pandey have been an integral part of Leo Burnett India’s success story which includes the winning of accolades across national and global platforms for its outstanding work. As chief creative officers, they will lead the creative growth for the agency across its offices in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru to elevate its creative output and contribute to the agency’s strategic initiatives.
Commenting on the announcement Das 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.”
Adding further Amitesh Rao, chief executive officer of Leo Burnett – South Asia said, “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 Kamble 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 Pandey said, “We’ve had a really good run in last three to four 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.”
Pandey has been with Leo Burnett for the past 16 years. He started as a junior copywriter at Leo Burnett and over the years, he has been responsible for creating market-moving, category redefining work, be it launching and creating brand Spotify in India, making Acko a new-age insurance brand or more recently developing one of Leo Burnett’s most awarded campaigns – Airtel’s 175 Replayed.
Kamble has been with Leo Burnett for almost a decade and has been instrumental in creating some of the agency’s biggest work, including the Bajaj V campaign for which Leo Burnett went on to win India’s first effectiveness award at the prestigious Cannes Lions.
Barve brings over two decades of experience in advertising and marketing, and has held leadership roles with Google, Mondelez and Leo Burnett across Asia-Pacific. She brings a rich and diverse perspective on communications and media, having worked on both – the agency and client side, as well as with tech platforms.
This transition marks an exciting phase for Havas India as it continues to innovate, lead and deliver exceptional results for its clients, the agency stated in a press release.
