Vikram Gaikwad quits Leo Burnett; joins Grey, Mumbai

Vikram Gaikwad, currently creative director at Leo Burnett India's Mumbai office, has resigned from the agency and is moving, quite literally, to the office next door. To be precise, into Grey Worldwide, whose Mumbai office stands adjacent to Burnett's in Parel. Gaikwad will be joining Grey as creative director, and will partner Raj Kurup (creative director and creative head, Grey, Mumbai) as his art partner. The development has been confirmed by both Grey Worldwide and Gaikwad. Speaking to agencyfaqs! last evening, Gaikwad said, "Tuesday will be my last day at Burnett, and I will be starting work at Grey within a week's time."

Gaikwad reveals that the decision to accept Grey's offer was taken roughly three weeks ago. "Raj called me and asked if I would like to work with him as his art partner and help him oversee the young creative talent at Grey Mumbai," he says. "There were a couple of options I had, but I settled for Grey because I think there is an opportunity there to do good work. The Grey of today may not be the Trikaya Grey of the past, but there is a desire within the agency to improve the creative standards and bounce back by producing good work. I saw that Grey can give me a chance to contribute to agency growth." Gaikwad adds that working with Kurup - whom he knows from the time Kurup was with Burnett India's sibling, Orchard Advertising - was an incentive in itself. "Raj is young, talented and passionate about doing good work, and I saw an opportunity to form a good team," he says.

If joining an old colleague and agency mate gives Gaikwad something to look forward to, bidding adieu to current colleagues is a bit of an emotional experience. "At Burnett, I have worked with some very good and talented people like Arvind (Sharma, managing director, Leo Burnett India), Pops (KV Sridhar, national creative director) and Aggie (Agnello Dias, executive creative director)," he says. "Pops and Aggie, in particular, I know from the time I was in Lintas. I have learnt a lot from them, and I have no hesitation in admitting that Pops has been a kind of guru to me right from the time I entered advertising."

Gaikwad, for the record, started his career at Lintas back in 1990. Four years later, he shifted to Enterprise Advertising (which became Enterprise Nexus while he was at the agency), where he worked on accounts such as Mahindra Classic and Torrent. (Remember those bright yellow, two-column-ten long copy ads for Torrent, which became weekly features in many Sunday supplements? Those are a part of Gaikwad's portfolio.) In 1998, Gaikwad moved to SSC&B, where he worked on brands such as Mercedes-Benz E-Class and Onergy (the famous ‘bedposts' ad that he and Raj Kamble created for the virility capsule brand fared very well in the global awards circuit, it may be recalled). Then, sometime in 2000, Gaikwad joined Burnett, where some of his most well known ads include the print campaign for Schindler elevators and Bajaj Fans (the ‘whirlpool' ad, which won praise at a few international award shows).

Leaving an agency that he has been associated with for close to four years - especially one where he was able to produce some good work - is hard. "Leo Burnett is a good place, with a good work environment and some great people," he says. "I had a good time there, and I am happy I had the opportunity of working there." While he acknowledges that "everything was good" at Burnett, he adds, "Sooner or later, one has to move on in life. So I decided to take up the Grey assignment. It's a good time to move, as I have nine to 12 months to prove myself there. I am looking forward to the challenge."

For Grey, Mumbai, this is the second senior-level recruitment in three months. Regulars on this website may recall that Kurup moved in (from Lowe) to head the agency's creative department in mid-January. Commenting on Gaikwad's coming on board, Prathap Suthan, national creative director, Grey Worldwide (India), says, "Vikram is a nice, hard-working guy with feet firmly planted on the ground. We liked his work, and when we met, we told him that although we are not a flashy bunch, we think it's time we, as an agency office, get out of the shadows and make a name for ourselves by doing good work. Some good work has started happening out of our Mumbai office, and Vikram coming in as Raj's art partner will help us in that direction."

Kurup, of course, is happiest with Gaikwad's decision. "Since the day I came into this agency I have been scouting for an art partner who will also take responsibility for all that is art-related in our product," he says. "We met about 15 people, but Vikram was an obvious choice the moment a friend referred his name. I had seen some of the stuff he has done, and he is excellent when it comes to execution. I gave him the full picture and shared my plans for this place, and he liked it. We needed a backbone in art, and his coming will fortify the team here." © 2004 agencyfaqs!