PremiumDentsu India owned creative agency Taproot Dentsu on Monday announced key senior leadership changes and promoted Ayesha Ghosh as chief executive (CEO). Ghosh, who had been heading the Mumbai office, will now be responsible for both Mumbai and Gurugram offices. She has been associated with the agency since 2015.
Ghosh replaces Umesh Shrikhande who retired as CEO from the agency in March 2020.
Ghosh said that it’s nerve-racking to step into the new role because the standards set are very high and these are tough times for business. Yet, she has a young team willing to work hard and hungry to prove a point, she added.
The agency has also promoted Shashank Lanjekar to the role of chief strategy officer (CSO) and will now be in charge of strategic planning for both the Taproot Dentsu offices in Mumbai and Gurugram. Thus far, he had been heading planning for the Mumbai office after joining the agency in 2017.
Lanjekar said that with a fresh set of minds in the planning teams of Mumbai and Delhi, it only helps the strike rate for great work to be created.
Meanwhile, Agnello Dias, co-founder and chief creative officer (CCO) - Taproot Dentsu, who has been stepping back for a few years from active work, will continue as a consultant for key brands. His association with Dentsu International ends this month.
Dias said that he has been around these past few years in the agency to make sure that the new team members are ready. "... and now that it’s clear they are, I have decided to step back further," he added.
Pearl Vas, who has been with the agency since 2018, takes on more independent responsibilities in Mumbai. She will now be promoted to senior vice president (SVP), strategic planning. Abhinav Kaushik, who was executive vice president (EVP) on the Honda business among other brands, has been promoted to head - Taproot Dentsu, Gurugram while Titus Upputuru remains very ably in charge of creative for the Gurugram office.
Meanwhile, Santosh Padhi, will continue as co-founder and CCO and will have a more hands-on role in both Mumbai and Delhi offices. Under the overall creative leadership of Padhi, the creative team for the Mumbai office has been expanded and divided into four units, each to be headed by a senior creative resource. Neeraj Kanitkar, Yogesh Rijhwani, Abhishek Deshwal and Purva Ummat have been named as executive creative directors who will head these units.
Padhi said, “The average age of the agency coming further down is the right sign for us being future-ready."
Taproot Dentsu handles clients such as Facebook, Marico's grooming brand Set Wet, Airtel, Parle Products and Aquaguard among others.
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