Malaysia Airlines' brand and creative head Sagar Paranjpe steps down

Malaysia Airlines' (MAB) head of brand, strategy and creative, Sagar Paranjpe (pictured), is leaving after four years with the airline. He described those four years to be memorable ones and explained in a LinkedIn post that he built a team that in turn built him.

"They helped me accomplish some of my greatest achievements and taught me how to become a great leader. Leaving this team is probably the hardest choice that I've ever made, but in order to achieve great things, one must make those hard choices," he said.

Separately, Paranjpe told A+M that he is not the same person that he was when he stepped into MAB four years ago. "I've worked in advertising agencies most of my life and have managed to be in quite a liberal environment. So walking into a GLC was quite the culture shock for me. But over a period of time as I learned how to navigate through this massive company and its processes, I was given more responsibility," he said.

Paranjpe was promoted to his current role last January and was previously head of strategy and first joined as creative director, global. He also worked at Geometry Global, Grey Group, and JWT. Throughout his journey at MAB, he was given the chance to build an in-house team comprising brand, creative, A/V production, and social media, which has allowed him to create holistic campaigns for the airline.

"With this, we began the various campaigns in the middle of the pandemic, such as Sweet Tweets, Dream Today Travel Tomorrow, This is Malaysia, MHhomecooks, Sounds of MH, and the recent in-flight safety video. He was also part of the team that conceptualised Journify and according to Paranjpe, brought it to life "in a matter of months". "I was given marketing lead for Journify and created a brand campaign in February this year, followed by a larger than life activation at the Oval in 1 Utama, to celebrate its one-year birthday," he said. 

Paranjpe added: "While I'd like to say that I have had a positive impact on MAB, I do believe that MAB, my bosses and colleagues have had a greater impact on me." According to him, this is the first time ever when he feels that leaving is genuinely the toughest decision he has ever made, as he looks at the team he has created and the pieces of work the team has produced. "But I guess that in order for you to progress, you have to make tough decisions. So here I am," he added. A+M has reached out to MAB for comment on his replacement.

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