After being associated with Thinking Folks Brand Solutions as Group CEO and Managing Partner for a year, Rajeev Rakshit has now joined Leo Burnett India, part of Publicis Groupe India, as its Executive Director- Bangalore.
This is his second stint with Leo Burnett India. Earlier on, he served as the agency’s Executive Director from 2006 to 2010 during which he headed Bangalore, Chennai and Delhi branches of LB’s agency brand Orchard, lead various new business responsibilities for Mumbai operations and even launched Leo Burnett’s third agency brand Black Pencil (in Delhi).
The appointment comes on the back of the agency’s strong partnerships with Bengaluru based clients including Ikea, redBus, Kingfisher, Heineken, Lenovo, Acko, Flipkart to name a few.
In his new role at the creative agency, he will be responsible for taking the agency forward to the next level across client relationships, solutions, talent and growth, and will report to Amitesh Rao, CEO, Leo Burnett- South Asia.
Prior to joining Thinking Folks Brand Solutions in 2023, Rakshit was the Chief Strategy Officer at Mediology Software for six years starting 2017.
From 2015 to 2017, he served the role of President at L&K Saatchi; Managing Partner- JWT India at Global Team Ford (WPP) from 2013 to 2015; and EVP and General Manager (India) and Chief Growth Officer (South Asia) at McCann Erickson from 2012 to 2013.
In the past, he also worked with HMV Saregama India, Everest Brand Solutions Y&R and Publicis.
Speaking about his appointment, Rakshit, Executive Director- Bangalore, Leo Burnett, said, “Having had a substantive stint with Leo Burnett in the past, it feels like coming home. The agency’s inspired creativity, portfolio of iconic brands and numerous client success stories has resulted in its staggering momentum and I am excited to be a part of this journey. I have always admired Leo Burnett’s ability to reimagine and redefine industry norms and look forward to collaborating and contributing to propel the agency towards its next significant milestone.”
To this, Amitesh Rao, CEO, Leo Burnett- South Asia, added, “Leo Burnett is a formidable creative force in Bengaluru with great momentum, energy and ambition, working with some incredible brands, and lucky to have some of the most talented people onboard. Rajeev comes with a distinctive blend of a future facing orientation, maturity and deep industry knowledge, and we are delighted to have him join us in building on the foundation of our Bengaluru operation to take it to greater heights.”
Furthermore, Rajdeepak Das, Chief Creative Officer- Publicis Groupe, South Asia and Chairman- Leo Burnett, South Asia, mentioned, “The Bangalore team’s energy is infectious and we currently work with some of the best clients of India from there. We already have Pravin Sutar leading the creative mandate from Bangalore and together with Rajeev who comes with solid hands-on experience, and we are confident of building meaningful solutions for our client partners.”
