Ajit Gurnani has been named Chief Business Development Officer for South Asia by Publicis Groupe. He will improve new business offerings, strengthen client relationships, and accelerate growth for the Groupe and its clients in his new role. He will also promote greater synergies and connectivity among Groupe agencies, solution hubs, and Practices in order to maximise client value and business results. In this role, he will collaborate closely with Anupriya Acharya, CEO of Publicis Groupe South Asia. In recent years, Publicis Media India has dominated the new business rankings.
Gurnani will take on this role in addition to his current position as Chief Growth Officer, Publicis Media Services, India, where he will work closely with Tanmay Mohanty, CEO of Publicis Media Services India. Working closely with the media services teams, he has led critical global and local pitches and been instrumental in enabling some of the key media wins of 2022, including PepsiCo, LG Digital, and Eureka Forbes.
Gurnani has been with Groupe for nearly eight years, working in various capacities at Zenith and Publicis Media. He brings a wide range of client-side experience from his time at Marico and others, in addition to agency and media experience gained through leadership roles in leading media networks.
Anupriya Acharya says “This role is a vital one for the Groupe and is aimed at further solidifying partnerships with clients and keeping up our pace of new business momentum. Ajit is a seasoned leader that brings remarkable perspective, depth, and dimension to every brand conversation and from across various vantage points. His vast experience across categories, businesses and working with multi-disciplinary teams is an added asset.”
Ajit Gurnani said, “I am thrilled at the opportunity. Publicis Groupe South Asia has been performing spectacularly on new business and future-facing capabilities and I look forward to my part in elevating its position further, and bringing in new partnerships, connections, and surefire growth. Publicis Power of One model is very powerful, and I hope to leverage it fully to unlock tangible value for the Groupe and its clients.”