Sharmine Panthaky joins MullenLowe Lintas Indonesia to lead Unilever work

MullenLowe Lintas Indonesia has named Sharmine Panthaky (pictured) as senior business director, taking charge of Unilever’s Indonesia-led global accounts in a role designed to fuse local insight with global strategy.

Panthaky moves to Jakarta from India-based MullenLowe Lintas Group, where she served nearly seven years - most recently as executive director - overseeing campaigns for Lifebuoy, one of Unilever’s flagship hygiene brands. Under her leadership, the brand’s marketing communications delivered revenue growth, deeper consumer engagement, and high-profile creative recognition, the agency said.

Her work also demonstrated an ability to blend social-first thinking with creative executions. Most recently, she helmed Lifebuoy’s “Ketempelan dinginnya” (“Get possessed by coolness”) campaign - a horror-comedy concept aimed at engaging Indonesia’s Gen Z consumers.

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In her new role, Panthaky is tasked with leading the global businesses anchored in Indonesia, primarily Unilever brands spanning multiple categories. She will also collaborate with other IPG global clients active in the market.

David Lukas, CEO of MullenLowe Lintas Indonesia, said in a statement to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE: “Sharmine’s appointment reflects our commitment to positioning Indonesia as a strategic hub for global clients, especially Unilever. Her expertise in global account management and social-first integration aligns perfectly with our goal to deliver work that resonates locally while meeting global standards.”

Looking ahead, Panthaky - who reports directly to Lukas - plans to draw on her global account management experience to inject category learnings and brand guidelines into local and regional work. Her agenda includes a stronger emphasis on social-first, integrated campaigns, idea platforms that cut through competitive clutter, and world-class best practices in project management, strategy, and creative output.

“Indonesia as a market is very exciting to me, personally,” Panthaky said. “It offers scale, great potential for growth across categories, and a unique playground for social-first ideas for a society that has deep rooted belief systems and behaviour patterns.”

“With a lot of our Unilever brands on the cusp of fundamental transformation journeys, it’s an exciting time to be part of the team designing how they will look, behave and serve customers in such an important market, and offers great learning for me as well.”

The appointment marks a deeper integration between MullenLowe’s Singapore and Indonesia operations, signalling the agency’s intent to position Jakarta as a key strategic hub for global and regional brand stewardship.

Earlier this year, MullenLowe Lintas Indonesia reshaped its leadership, unveiling a refreshed C-suite aimed at driving growth and agility in a shifting market. The new “triangle” structure places newly appointed chief growth officer Amelia Pryana at the helm, flanked by chief strategy officer Fajar “Arya” Kumbara and chief creative officer Hadiansyah “Anca” Sangadji.

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