Saraswathi Laxman, Gaurav Dudeja join Leo Burnett as EVPs

Leo Burnett India has strengthened the senior leadership in its north operations. The agency has appointed Saraswathi Laxman and Gaurav Dudeja as executive vice-presidents (EVP). The duo will report to Samir Gangahar, president - north, Leo Burnett India, and will be based in New Delhi.

Saraswathi comes in from ABP News where she was the marketing head, while Dudeja's last role was as the head of brand and marketing at Fortis Healthcare.

Welcoming the new leaders on board, Gangahar says, "It is wonderful to have (Saraswathi) Laxman and (Gaurav) Dudeja on board heading the two units within the Delhi office. Both being seasoned advertising and marketing professionals, they understand the need to solve clients' business problems and will work together with our vast pool of specialists across media, digital, experiential, innovation and production to drive integrated solutions."

Apart from ABP News, Saraswathi has also spent a significant amount of time with retail brands such as Tata International Wolverine Brands, and Trent. She has also worked at J. Walter Thompson, Publicis, Lowe Lintas and McCann Erickson.

Speaking about her new role, Saraswathi says, "As the environment of communication and clients' marketing needs is going through a dramatic transformation and evolving dynamically, I felt it was the right time to come back to advertising. The Power of One philosophy being driven by Leo Burnett and the ambition of integration is where the future lies. That excited me the most and made me want to be a part of that journey, and to be part of the team to drive Leo Burnett India to the next level."

Dudeja has headed the marketing function at consumer durables giant Philips India, apart from Fortis Healthcare. Like Saraswathi, he, too has spent several years in advertising agencies, the longest stint being with DDB Mudra as the vice-president. In his distinguished career, Dudeja has worked on brands such as Volkswagen, Wrigley, HBO, Philips, ESPN, Star Sports, Boost, and Reebok.

Commenting on his new role through a press statement, Dudeja says, "This is going to be my second stint in advertising, and it looks like an exciting time to make a comeback in the industry. Especially at a place like Leo Burnett, where I see an honest attempt to not only drive integration, but also a conviction to develop ideas that come alive in real acts and not just conventional ads... I feel that my time in marketing has added a new dimension to my thinking process, and I'm genuinely excited at the prospect of leveraging it for our brands to create work that's integrated, effective and memorable."

Leo Burnett India has made these key hires at a time when the New Delhi operations are undergoing a strategic restructuring to leverage the strength of Publicis Groupe's Power of One strategy. Power of One offers real business solutions and drives growth through integration across all the offices in the Groupe's network. Operationally, the Delhi office will transition to a two-unit structure with Saraswathi and Gaurav heading a unit each.