Amid IPG-Omnicom merger, McCann India’s Creative Head Ashish Chakravarty exits

New Delhi: Ashish Chakravarty, Executive Director and India Head of Creative at McCann Worldgroup, is moving on from the agency after nearly seven years. 

However, sources told BestMediaInfo.com that he will continue to be associated with McCann in a consulting capacity.

The agency has also onboarded Sagar Kapoor and Pradyumna Chauhan as consultants to work on various projects.

The development comes amid a larger organisational restructuring at McCann Worldgroup, coinciding with parent company IPG’s merger with Omnicom, set to conclude later this year.

In recent months, several leadership changes have taken place at McCann India. In May, Sambit Mohanty assumed a dual role as EVP and Creative Head at McCann Bangalore, following Vishal Ahluwalia's departure from the company. 

Earlier in April, Executive Director Alok Lall stepped down after over 14 years with the agency. 

In March, COO & CSO Jitender Dabas also moved on to join Cheil SWA as CEO of Cheil X.

Meanwhile, the agency elevated Kamal Basu to Executive Director and Chief Growth Officer, brought in Jyoti Mahendru as Chief Talent Officer and National Communication Officer, and appointed Sumeer Mathur as Chief Strategy Officer.

According to IPG’s stock exchange filing, the holding company has eliminated 1,500 positions in Q1 and another 900 in Q2 2025, impacting leadership, creative, and support roles globally.

Chakravarty reported to Prasoon Joshi, Chairman – McCann Asia Pacific and CEO & CCO – McCann Worldgroup India. 

He previously served as Creative Chief of McCann Delhi, helping establish it as one of the top-performing agency offices in the region.

Before rejoining McCann, he was Chief Creative Officer at WPP’s Contract Advertising, overseeing the creative output of Contract, iContract, Designsutra, and Core Consulting. He had joined Contract in 2013 from McCann as National Creative Director.