Publicis Worldwide India brings on board Ajay Gahlaut As CCO & MD

Publicis Worldwide India has today announced that Ajay Gahlaut, one of the industry’s finest creative talents, has joined as Chief Creative Officer & Managing Director, Publicis Worldwide India and will be based out of the Mumbai office.

Ajay will begin his stint at Publicis on February 4, 2019. Ajay joins Publicis from Ogilvy where he was Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy North and Deputy CCO, Ogilvy India. Prior to Ogilvy, Ajay has had stints with McCann, Saatchi & Saatchi, among others. With over 25 years of experience, Gahlaut has worked on world-renowned brands such as Pernod Ricard, BMW, KFC, Taco Bell, Dabur, Perfetti Van Melle, Mother Dairy, Pizza Hut, Sprite, Best Foods, HT Mint, Philips, among others.

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.”

Also read: Publicis India appoints Neeraj Bassi as Managing Partner and Chief Strategy Officer

On joining Publicis Worldwide India, Ajay 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.”