Dentsu India has announced that Aalap Desai has been elevated as CCO of Taproot Dentsu and isobar India. Desai is currently NCD at isobar.
He will report to Ajay Gahlaut, group chief creative officer, dentsu Creative India.
Prior to his appointment as NCD at isobar, he was NCD at dentsuMB India.
Titus Upputuru, creative head, Taproot Dentsu, has been elevated as NCD, Taproot Dentsu, Gurugram. He will lead the agency's Gurugram creative team and will report Desai. Upputuru has also been entrusted with the additional mandate of leading integrated solutions for dentsu Creative India. In this role, he will report to Gahlaut.
Sidharth Rao, CEO, dentsuMB Group, said, “The decision is vital to the growth of dentsu Creative in India and aligned with the network’s global ambitions. Talents such as Aalap and Titus come with unmatched expertise and experience; and their contributions are bound to outweigh the expectations of our clients and the industry. Over the years, they have been groomed with the proficiency to build brands from scratch and are excellent at measuring and matching the market pulse with client needs. With this move, I look forward to dentsu Creative India reinforcing creative solutions in newer and undefined ways.”
Gahlaut added, “It is fascinating to work with some of the country’s best creative brains. Aalap and Titus are creative geniuses who have delivered some fantastic campaigns over the years. Their brand-building approaches are contemporary and fresh. I feel that's the need of the hour. All the conversations around us are evolving and it is inevitable for brands to evolve their conversations too. They are perfect for that task. Their expertise in brand thinking and storytelling will create robust digital-led creative solutions for clients. I am looking forward to working with both.”
Desai said, "I am humbled by the faith the dentsu network has shown in me over the years. With the integrated approach we have now, I am excited to be a bigger part of that journey with my new role at isobar and Taproot Dentsu. isobar has taught me the power of limitless possibilities, the power of future-gazing and thinking of things that don't even exist. It is a scary privilege to not just be in step with the world but to create steps that the world will use to climb to the future.”
He added, "Taproot Dentsu is legendary. It is a sacred altar that the whole industry pays homage to. It has challenged the industry and created an unmatched space for itself. For years, I've looked up to it and to the work that this institution created. To now be a part of it and help usher it into the future, is something that is extraordinarily exciting for me.”
Desai has also worked with Disney+ Hotstar, Leo Burnett, JWT, DDB Mudra, Ogilvy, and Publicis Ambience.
