Ajay Gahlaut joins Publicis Worldwide India as Chief Creative Officer & Managing Director

Publicis Worldwide India has hired Ajay Gahlaut as Chief Creative Officer & Managing Director, Publicis Worldwide India.

Gahlaut (left) joins Publicis on February 4, 2019 and will be based out of the Mumbai office. He replaces Bobby Pawar, who left in November to join Havas India as chairman and chief creative officer.

Gahlaut left Ogilvy where he was Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy North and Deputy CCO, Ogilvy India in October last year. Prior to Ogilvy, he had stints with McCann, Saatchi & Saatchi, among others over his 25 years in the industry.

Gahlaut said, “I’m looking forward to my journey with Publicis. The new age thinking here excites me. It’s a nimble set up based on the principles of collaboration and integration to deliver the ‘Power of One’. The quality of work is already solid and I look forward to working with the teams to raise the creative bar both in terms of variety and quality of work.”

On Ajay’s appointment, Saurabh Varma, CEO, Publicis Communications, South Asia, said, “Anyone who knows Ajay or even follows him on Twitter, will know that he’s one of the finest storytellers in the country. His ability, experience and talent in transforming brands by creating stellar communication across formats or platforms is truly remarkable. With, Srija, Neeraj and Ajay at the helm, Publicis Worldwide India is going to be a force to reckon with. I welcome Ajay to the Publicis Groupe, and wish him the best of luck.”

Said Srija Chatterjee, Managing Director, Publicis Worldwide India, said, “We’re in this phase of transformation at Publicis Worldwide India. Today, the industry is all about constantly listening to clients and anticipating their needs. It’s about delivering the best in-class creative idea and doing it over and over again for each of your brands. Ajay is one of those creative mavericks who has been able to do that, consistently for over a long period of time. I’m truly excited to work with Ajay and I look forward to a great partnership.”

Neeraj Bassi, CSO & Managing Partner, Publicis Worldwide India said, “I am most delighted to welcome Ajay on board at Publicis. He has been a friend and guide to me since 2011. Together we delivered some stellar work on marquee brands and have won several well-fought pitches. Ajay’s ability to simplify problems is legendary and his dogged persistence to ‘crack’ the real problem that will lead to a tangible impact on business is a big asset for any brand. I look forward to partnering him again and working on ideas that become part of life.”