New Delhi: VaynerMedia, the global integrated creative and media agency founded by Gary Vaynerchuk, has announced three senior leadership appointments in India as it accelerates its next phase of growth in the market. The appointments across strategy, creative and media are aimed at strengthening the agency’s integrated capabilities and supporting brands navigating an increasingly AI-driven and social-first marketing landscape.
The leadership expansion comes as brands adapt to changing consumer behaviour, with AI reshaping discovery, platform algorithms rewarding cultural relevance over paid reach, and traditional performance marketing metrics becoming less effective. VaynerMedia said its social-first model positions social platforms as the core driver of modern brand building rather than simply another marketing channel.
As part of the appointments, P Sai Bhardwaj joins as Group Creative Director, bringing 19 years of experience in brand storytelling, creative leadership and social-first marketing across organisations including Prime Video, RPSG Media Group, and campaigns for Amazon, Google India and Pernod Ricard. He will lead the agency’s creative vision with a focus on developing culturally relevant, social-native campaigns.
Suruchi Makhija has been appointed Senior Director, Strategy. With more than two decades of experience spanning GroupM, Publicis and Cheil Worldwide, she will spearhead the agency’s strategy practice using VaynerMedia’s proprietary Platforms, Algorithms and Culture (PAC) framework to translate evolving consumer behaviour into business outcomes.
Joining as Senior Director, Media, Aveek Gupta brings over 20 years of experience across DDB Mudra, GroupM, Carat and Havas Media. His role will focus on integrating media strategy with creative thinking to deliver unified brand solutions.
Commenting on the appointments, Salman Moin, Country Manager, VaynerMedia India, said, “These appointments are a deliberate statement about where we are taking this agency in India. We are not building a team to carry out campaigns. We are building a team to transform how brands market themselves in a market that is moving faster than most brand playbooks can keep up with. India is one of the most social-native, culturally dynamic markets in the world, and the opportunity here for brands that get this right is enormous. We intend to be the agency that helps them get there.”
