Leo Burnett reshuffles leadership roles

Leo Burnett Worldwide has moved Saurabh Varma (pictured), currently the regional chief strategy officer of Leo Burnett Asia Pacific to the new role of CEO Leo Burnett Group India.Varma replaces Arvind Sharma, chairman and CEO of India Subcontinent who will be leaving the agency to pursue other business interests, outside of the industry, after a stint with the agency for 30 years.Varma will now oversee the India operations across Mumbai, New Delhi and Bangalore, where he will report directly to Jarek Ziebinski, President, Leo Burnett Asia Pacific.The appointment is effective 1 November onwards.Nitish Mukherjee, director on the board of the company, will play a key role in this transition as a strategic consultant, working closely with the local and regional leaders of Leo Burnett to ensure the smooth running of business.“We would like to take this opportunity to express our deep gratitude and appreciation to Arvind Sharma. He has worked tirelessly over the past 30 years to build Leo Burnett into one of India’s leading creative agencies and laid down a solid foundation for the agency to progress to the next level,” Bernardin said.“During his tenure, Arvind built a stellar client base that includes blue chip multinational and local clients and nurtured some of the brightest stars within the Indian advertising industry today. Though he remains available for his advice and counsel, we bid farewell to Arvind today, in his official capacity, with our very best wishes and as a dear friend.”Bernardin added: “We are fortunate to have a strong management team on ground in India and equally fortunate in having the bench strength in the region in naming Saurabh to this role. Saurabh’s talent and track record is well-recognised within the network. His combined experience and knowledge of having worked across creative, media and digital agencies is invaluable as we look to elevate the agency to its next stage of development in India, a key market for the network globally. He will have the full support of the global and regional management in his new role.”