Saurabh Saksena to be VMLY&R India's new CEO

CEO Saurabh will drive the integration of the network’s capabilities across India – from creative excellence to transformational solutions.

Global brand and customer experience agency, VMLY&R, has announced the appointment of Saurabh Saksena as Chief Executive Officer of VMLY&R India. He will be based in Mumbai and will report to Hari Ramanathan, CEO- VMLY&R, South and South-East Asia and Japan. 

Saurabh used to be President of Red Fuse Communications, India, the WPP agency that manages Colgate Palmolive. He was tasked with offering client businesses the ‘best of  WPP’ – which helped him to grow his expertise in social, CRM, full-funnel management and new age media. He has also led JWT and Ogilvy, Malaysia as Chief Executive Officer.

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In his new role, Saurabh will drive the integration of VMLY&R’s capabilities across India – from creative  excellence to transformational solutions at the intersection of brand and customer experience (BX & CX), data, platforms and commerce. 

The network has expanded over the past two years to include social creative agency The Glitch, and  VMLY&R Commerce to scale shopper, retail activation, experiential and rural marketing practices. They operate as one company with distinct capabilities under the leadership of Saurabh Saksena. 

Commenting on his appointment, Saurabh Saksena said: “I’m thrilled to take up this new role and lead the VMLY&R operations in India. The agency houses a great pool of talent across specialisations that don’t usually exist together in a single agency, making it well-positioned to harness creativity, technology, and culture to create connected brands. VMLY&R has outstanding growth potential in India, and we will continue to build on this foundation.” 

Hari Ramanathan, CEO, VMLY&R South, and South-East Asia and Japan said: “India is an anchor market for us in Asia and with a breadth and depth of offerings that are unmatched in the industry, VMLY&R India, under Saurabh’s leadership, is all set to help clients get their ‘unfair’ share of growth  in a vibrant market. 

"Saurabh represents our continued investment in India, as we believe it’s a market with boundless  opportunity and a growth story that is waiting to be unlocked."