Leo Burnett India has announced the elevations of Dheeraj Sinha and Rajdeepak Das as managing directors.
Sinha and Das are currently chief strategy officer and chief creative officer for Leo Burnett South Asia respectively. The MD role is in addition to their current roles.
The duo will continue to report to Saurabh Varma, CEO, Publicis Communications India and will be based in Mumbai.
Varma said, “Four years back we started on an incredible journey as a team. We challenged every rule book, every status quo. We wanted to create ‘Wave Three’ where engagement, experience and utility would be celebrated as much as a piece of content. We wanted to create a maker culture. In this period, Indigo Consulting became a digital powerhouse. We launched Arc Worldwide and made it one of the leading experiential agencies, and built Prodigious into one of the finest production houses in India. We created epic work and had great fun doing it.”
He added, “Leo Burnett now needs a new chapter. The Power of One has given Leo Burnett access to the best specialist operations in the country. Backed by the expertise of Indigo, Arc, Prodigious MSLGroup and Publicis.Sapient, the agency is now in the best position to partner our clients’ businesses. Raj and Dheeraj have, together, transformed Leo Burnett India into the formidable force it is today. They have always led from the front and it is the right time to acknowledge the role they already play. Our collective ambition remains the same; to be the best in the world, bar none.”
Sinha said, “I am looking forward to leading Leo Burnett at possibly the best time that the agency has ever had. Our success at Cannes Lions last year – being the only agency to win for innovation and effectiveness – is a good framing of our agency ambition. As a chief strategy officer, in various jobs across Asia, I have been deeply involved in the business aspect of the agency over the last decade. I am now looking forward to running the business hands-on. I am fortunate to have Raj’s partnership and Saurabh’s backing in my new role.”
Das said, "I am incredibly proud of where Leo Burnett’s creative output stands today. The last three years have been a great journey. We have turned our agency into one of the youngest and most dynamic creative companies in the region. Having said that, I believe we are only as good as our last piece of creative work. There is so much more to take on and achieve and I can’t think of a better partner than Dheeraj to take on my new responsibilities with.”
