After being associated with WPP’s newly rechristened agency- VML, which was formed after the merger of Wunderman Thompson and VMLY&R, for a period of five months, Saurabh Saksena, the agency’s President in India, has decided to part ways.
Before VML’s inception, he served the role of CEO at VMLY&R for approximately one year.
After five months into the inception of WPP’s newest agency- VML, Saurabh Saksena, who assumed the position of President at the agency’s India counterpart in January this year has called it a day.
Prior to WPP announcing the merger of two of its agencies- Wunderman Thompson and VMLY&R, to form the newly rechristened creative powerhouse- VML, he was associated with the latter as Chief Executive Officer for more than a year’s time.
Before joining VMLY&R in December 2022, he served as the President of WPP’s Red Fuse Communications from August 2019 to December 2022.
From October 2009 to July 2019, he was associated with J Walter Thompson Worldwide in a slew of roles across the agency’s offices in India and Malaysia.
Saksena joined the agency’s Gurgaon office in the capacity of Executive Business Director from October 2009 to January 2014 and later expanded his remit to include the position of Chief Growth Officer until October 2016.
In 2016, he was appointed the Managing Director of J Walter Thompson, Malaysia and was later elevated to the role of Group CEO for Ogilvy and JWT (including Mirum) Malaysia, both, in 2017. In 2018, he took the baton of managing integrated talent, culture and businesses of JWT and Wunderman as a precursor to becoming Wunderman Thompson Malaysia’s CEO by relocating, restructuring, and reorganizing the way the agency worked.
From October 2007 to September 2009, he served the role of Publisher (Head of Bangalore Edition) at Mid Day; Branch Head- Mudra (Bangalore) at DDB Mudra Communications from April 2005 to September 2007 and Associate Business Director at DDB Mudra Group from July 2001 to April 2005.
In the past, Saksena also worked with Ogilvy Outreach and Clarion Communications for more than three years each.
