BBH and Publicis Worldwide integrate in India

In an important development, Publicis Groupe announced the integration of BBH into Publicis Groupe and a joint leadership team that will oversee BBH-PWW India. It is a strategic move for the Groupe, aimed at reinforcing the Groupe’s creative credentials.

Also read: Ajay Gahlaut quits Publicis Worldwide; Vikash Chemjong and Basabjit Mazumdar appointed as Joint NCDs

The new structure brings BBH and PWW under a common leadership, while letting the brands operate separately. It will be led by Subhash Kamath as CEO and Russell Barrett as CEO & Chief Creative Officer. Kamath and Barrett will be jointly responsible for the agencies’ business growth and creative ambitions. 

Anupriya Acharya, CEO Publicis Groupe South Asia, said, “BBH has an unmatched creative pedigree and strong brand equity both globally and in India. Bundled alongside PWW’s scale, reach, structural muscle and longstanding credentials, it gives us an opportunity to establish a creative powerhouse. A powerhouse that will also have full access and backing of the Groupe’s Power of One across Media, PR, Data, Tech, Commerce, Experiential, Content and Production. And so it gives our clients access to both incredible creative firepower as well as more integrated services at scale”   

Kamath comes in with 32 years of experience, out of which 20 have been in a senior leadership positions. Before starting BBH, he was the Group CEO at Bates 141 (a WPP company) and COO at Ambience Publicis, part of Publicis Groupe. He is passionate about building strong partnerships with clients on their brand strategies and motivating people & talent. An industry veteran, he also serves as the current Vice Chairman of ASCI (The Advertising Standards Council of India).

Barrett joins with 24 years of experience in which he has won every advertising-related creative award in India and several international ones including Cannes Lions, One Show Pencils, Andys, Spikes, D&ADs and London Internationals. He has worked at Rediffusion DY&R, Ogilvy, Leo Burnett, Bates 141 and has been at BBH for the past 10 years. As CCO, Russell has spearheaded the agency’s agile production offering along with playing an instrumental part in its foray into Entertainment, Content and Social.

Srija Chatterjee will continue in her role as MD on PWW India and Arvind Krishnan continues to lead BBH India as MD. 

Sanjay Sharma will be in-charge of account planning function across the new structure encompassing BBH and PWW as MD & Chief Strategy Officer.

Speaking further on the move, Acharya added, “Its a win-win situation for everyone. This is a leadership team with a proven track record and strong complementarity. I have no doubt our clients will soon see the benefits of the collective experience and capabilities.”

Kamath said, "It's a privilege to have been entrusted this senior leadership role by Publicis Groupe. As a team, we have spent 11 years together, building the BBH brand with a clear focus on strategy & creativity. I'm now looking forward to working closely with the Publicis Worldwide team as well on their exciting portfolio of brands and some great talent within the agency. Given the investments made by the group in so many future facing capabilities, especially digital & content, I see a huge opportunity for both BBH and PWW in bringing them all together to create complete and modern solutions for our clients."

Barrett said, “This is a giant opportunity to create really sharp, modern advertising solutions at scale and I’m extremely excited to be a part of this super talented team. Over the past 10 years at BBH, we’ve been able to build a strong, differentiated point of view through our work. While the Publicis Worldwide brand has an enviable roster of clients and specialisations, along with some amazing talent so the impact we can have in the market for our clients can be tremendous.” 

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