Vikram Sakhuja to head Maxus globally

Vikram Sakhuja has been named the global CEO of Maxus. Sakhuja till date was the CEO of GroupM India and South Asia. This is for the first time that a global agency will be headquartered out of India.

Sakhuja will replace Kelly Clark who will now be in charge of the Group's operations in North America.

Sakhuja's entry will give great boost to Maxus, especially in India, where it has always played the second fiddle to Mindshare.

After completing his IIT, Sakhuja began working with DCM as a management trainee. He was with the company for two years. After DCM, he got through IIM Kolkata after which he joined P&G in 1988 where he excelled in research. Richardson Hindustan (RHL) had just been bought over by P&G then.

In an earlier interview with afaqs!, he said, "The 'Procterisation' of RHL was an exciting time. I was involved in the launch of many new products. That was a fantastic learning experience. The second part of growth, for me, happened when I moved into media. Back then, media meant TV. So, you became an expert in planning and how to use TV to build brands."

He then moved to Coca Cola India where he spent around 4.5 years. It was during his days at Star India (where he headed marketing) when his luck turned him to Mindshare. Since then he has been with Mindshare and Group M where he has held several positions.