Mumbai: Ogilvy India has announced the launch of Ogilvy Consulting in the country, marking a significant strategic step to strengthen its consulting capabilities. Leading this new practice is Neeraj Bassi, who re-joins Ogilvy as India Head – Ogilvy Consulting and Head of Strategic Planning for Ogilvy India (North). Bassi will operate out of Ogilvy’s Gurugram office.
Ogilvy Consulting is the strategic arm of Ogilvy, focused globally on addressing three core business needs — Growth & Innovation, Business Design, and Digital Transformation. It unifies Ogilvy’s strengths across Brand Strategy, Customer Engagement & Commerce, Partnerships, and PR & Influence into a single integrated solution for clients seeking high-impact transformation and growth.
Neeraj Bassi brings with him nearly three decades of cross-functional experience in consulting, strategic planning, and business growth. Most recently, he served as Chief Growth Officer at Cheil X, the specialist division of Cheil SWA. Over the years, he has held leadership roles as CSO at Publicis, Havas, and Cheil India, and began his career with McCann Erickson in 1997. His journey also includes an international stint at JWT Dubai and a prior tenure at Ogilvy where he was President – Strategic Planning, Ogilvy Gurugram until 2015.
Welcoming Neeraj back, Prem Narayan, Chief Strategy Officer, Ogilvy India, said, “‘Neeraj is back in Ogilvy.’ That’s a feeling that many of us in Ogilvy have been wishing for quite some time. I have always admired Neeraj. He is one of the finest strategic minds in the country. His rich experience across consulting, advertising and driving growth make him one of the rare few who excel at intersecting consumer x culture x brand x business x modern media landscape to deliver business impact and transformation.There couldn’t have been anyone better to lead and launch the Ogilvy Consulting practice and drive excellence of the strategic planning function for Ogilvy India (North). Neeraj will make us sharper, stronger and sweeter.”
Sharing his thoughts on the new role, Neeraj Bassi said, “I am really excited to lead the Ogilvy Consulting practice in India. Globally we are getting a good traction in this space and I am looking forward to offering independent, unbiased advice for full funnel management of marquee brands – right from fuelling desire to demand conversion at point of sale. Ogilvy Consulting would address the issue of distributed brand narrative that is happening because of domain experts working in their silos. Championing the cause of one brand, one narrative, Ogilvy Consulting will help clients integrate the domains at a strategic level. It’s a homecoming for me and coming home is always special.”
