Ogilvy’s iconic leader Piyush Pandey has announced that he’s stepping into an advisory role, handing over the reins of the agency to Ogilvy veteran Hephzibah Pathak who will take on the role of executive chairperson of Ogilvy India. VR Rajesh will move from his current role as Group President of Ogilvy India to chief executive officer (CEO) of the agency. Chief creative officers Harshad Rajadhyaksha, Kainaz Karmakar and Sukesh Nayak, and chief strategy officer Prem Narayan will join the Ogilvy Board.
The WPP-owned ad agency Ogilvy’s global CEO spoke to Storyboard18’s Shibani Gharat about the leadership changes at Ogilvy India. Bulchandani addressed the leadership changes and the importance of the India market in WPP and Ogilvy’s global scheme of things.
Bulchandani said, “Piyush and I have been talking about this (succession) for a while. They’ve sort of been doing the job right while Piyush has been here in his role.”
She added, “It’s our belief that creativity is not a department. It is our business. So having that (three creatives) seat at the table and having the creative voice go broader than just the work that we do, but be involved in how the business is run is super important. And by the way, Piyush has done that in his role.”
Bulchandani said India is one of the top five markets for the agency. “It’s a growth market for us. It’s a market where our creative product is the best. We also have over a thousand people in Coimbatore and Hyderabad. That is our tech team which is a tech delivery team for the rest of the world, where we run campaigns, whether it’s on Salesforce or Adobe. So India for us is a twin peaks of growth agenda.”
The tech and enablement service offerings is a big priority for her, said Bulchandani. “I’m not at all biased when I say that it’s also the jewel in the crown. It’s not just because when we land up on the global stage, India performs for us consistently. A lot of markets will come up and down. But the one thing I know is that when we’re on the global stage, India will be consistent in its creative performance.”