Havas India appoints John Thangaraj as Chief Strategy Officer for Havas Creative Network India. His role encompasses Havas Worldwide India, Havas CX India, Conran Design Mumbai, Ekino, and Havas People India. John will drive the network’s strategic direction and collaborate with Havas Village India leaders for integration.
He will be based out of Gurugram and report to Rana Barua, Group CEO, Havas India, South East Asia and North Asia (Japan & South Korea).
Speaking about the appointment, Rana Barua said, “Havas Creative Network India has gained tremendous scale and size over the last six years. One of the agencies which has seen unprecedented growth, new leaders, tremendous business traction is Havas Worldwide India and therefore John will work closely with Anupama Ramaswamy and Kundan Joshee to further drive the growth of the agency. In addition, he will also work closely with Geet Nazir (Conran Design Mumbai), Prashant Tekwani (Havas CX India) and Arindam Sengupta (Havas People India)to further strengthen the strategic vision. He will further consolidate our client relationships and drive thought-leadership to ensure meaningful business growth and establish Havas Creative Network India as the most future-forward and progressive creative network conglomerate. I wish him all the best.”
John Thangaraj said, “I couldn’t be more excited to be embarking on this journey with Rana and the rest of the Havas India team. As the saying goes, it takes a village. And the Havas Village remains one of the most deeply and seamlessly integrated creative networks in the world. The opportunities to create meaningful client value across the entire chain are quite literally, limitless, and I can’t wait to get started.”
John brings 22 years of multi-functional marketing experience, starting in PR in 2002. His roles included managing adidas Originals in India and heading strategic planning for brands like Bacardi and Tata Steel. At MullenLowe Lintas Group, he worked with noteworthy brands like Hindustan Times and Nestle. Notably, he led strategic initiatives at Mindshare for clients like Pepsico and Lufthansa and at FCB Group India for major brands including Google and Uber.
