Leo Burnett appoints Amritraj Thakur as VP, Planning

Leo Burnett has appointed Amritraj Thakur as vice president, planning, at its Delhi office. He will work closely with Antony Rajkumar, executive vice president, integrated strategy planning, Leo Burnett, in sharpening the agency's strategic focus on key clients.

Thakur started his career in advertising in 1999 and soon left the industry to become a specialist in the consulting space. He moves back to advertising with Leo Burnett after a long hiatus and having worked with multinational clients in diverse areas such as strategy planning, business analysis and consumer research.

Samir Gangahar, president - North, Leo Burnett India, says, "Amritraj comes with rich experience in communications and, more recently, in consultancy. In him, we have found a strategist who has the ability to grasp business problems and think through compelling solutions that will add value to clients' businesses. In his experience of over 15 years, he has acted as the change enabler for many clients across industries. I'm sure his strength in strategy and business analysis will prove to be an incredible asset to us."

Rajkumar adds, "Amritraj has spent a large part of his career in the consulting space, solving complex business problems for both Indian and international clients. That experience, coupled with his temperament, natural intelligence and passion to study and influence human behaviour, will add tremendous value to our clients' businesses and for the agency too. It's great to have someone like him on the team."

On his new role, Thakur says, "After having worked in the consulting space for more than 10 years, I was looking to get back to advertising. I would be foolish to have missed the Leo Burnett opportunity, as it has in its team some of the finest strategic thinkers in the country."

Thakur is an alumnus of Warwick Business School, UK, and has extensive experience of working in Asian and European markets across industries in the corporate and public sector. Over the years, he has worked with Unilever, Bosch, NCSoft, RDF Media, Danone, in designing new market entry strategies, implementing sustainable business models, managing marketing and communication requirements and new product launches.

Leo Burnett India has several brands in its portfolio including McDonald's, Thums Up, Limca, Maaza, Tide, Whisper, Tata Capital, Sony, Adlabs Imagica, Bajaj Auto, HDFC Life Insurance, Amazon India, and Bacardi, among others.