AgTalk | We would aggressively grow our share of the pie: Vikram Sakhuja

The past week witnessed a few prominent changes in the media and agency business; one of them being the appointment of Vikram Sakhuja as the Chief Executive for India and South Asia as the Global Chief Executive for media agency, Maxus. GroupM, the media arm of Martin Sorrell controlled WPP, the world’s largest advertising network and marketing services announced this, along with some other senior management level changes as well. Sakhuja would be the first Maxus CEO to be based in India. Maxus has been declared the fastest-growing media agency globally for three consecutive years and its performance has been largely driven by Asia-Pacific. Maxus’s clients in India include Vodafone, Nokia, Titan, L’Oreal and Google.
 
Sakhuja graduated from IIT Delhi, and following a 2 year stint as a DCM Management Trainee, did his MBA at IIM Calcutta. He has worked with MNCs like Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola and Newscorp prior to joining the WPP group in 2002. He started as the Managing Director of MindShare Fulcrum, went on to become the Managing Director of MindShare South Asia; and is now the CEO of GroupM South Asia. 
 
Adgully spoke to Vikram Sakhuja on his new appointment and the steps that would follow after this big move. The following is the excerpts of the conversation. 
 
Adgully (AG): Congratulations for your new role, it’s a new feather in the cap. Can you share with us your thoughts as you take up this new role?
 
Vikram Sakhuja (VS): I am very excited and look forward to my new role. Maxus is a young, aggressively growing Agency with some fantastic talent. 
 
AG: Dominic Proctor has said that your were the perfect candidate to take on the Maxus role from Kelly. What do you have to say about it?
 
VS: Well clearly Dominic has good taste! Seriously, I am a bit overwhelmed and downright honoured to be considered right for this job.
 
AG: What are your immediate and long term priorities for Maxus?
 
VS: It is a bit too early to say. Maxus is doing amazingly well. It has been the fastest growing agency network in the world last 2 years. At this stage the smart thing to do is to get a handle on all the good work that is happening in the Agency.
 
AG: You have had an extensive experience in the industry and have worked with numerous clients. Do you see things changing from here onwards and how?
 
VS: My networks have been largely locally grown. I would imagine the change would lie in creating new networks.
 
AG: Maxus has had an impressive growth trajectory in the recent past. How challenging will it be to maintain that the pace of growth with additional newer responsibilities?
 
VS: Like I said, Maxus has clearly been doing something incredibly well last few years. If one can work off that momentum the chances of success are higher.
 
AG: What do you feel; will it be easy or difficult to lead global operations out of India?
 
VS: I believe that the new global reality in running operations like these is that geographic boundaries are going to blur. Technology has reduced the demands on physical presence. Having said that more travel is inevitable. For Maxus, its biggest markets are very evenly distributed across US, UK/ Europe, and Asia. Mumbai is probably as good a place as any other to keep as my base.
 
AG: Yours is a rare case that of a global CEO of an agency that is based out of India. How do you see this affecting business in India and APAC?
 
VS: I am not sure. Maxus India and APAC have world class leadership and are already well represented on the global Maxus Exco, and are not short on attention or resources even now.  One area to think about is MNCs wishing to go global out of India or APAC.
 
AG: How do you see the road ahead, in the next five years for Maxus and GroupM as a whole?
 
VS: Hopefully very bright! We would like to aggressively grow our share of the pie as well as do our bit in expanding the pie. Wish us luck.
 
Sakhuja is proud to have been part of the team that has shaped GroupM into becoming India’s largest and most awarded one-stop shop for marketing investment. He also sits on several industry body boards/ committees including ASCI, ABC, NRS, AAAI committees with ISA, INS and IBF, and CII & FICCI Marketing committees.
 
Industry reaction:
 
 
Divya Gupta, CEO, Dentsu Media 
 
A well thought through move; Indian talent and professionals have held key regional and global responsibilities across marketers and agency business for the past two decades. What is new and encouraging is the geographic shift in the headquarters; which is a reflection on the growth engine this market is.  This move would give Maxus certain strategic advantages, which is probably what triggered it. In geographic and HR terms, India is well poised to craft regional and global communication solutions.  India is a promising market for most marketers. In the agency business; creativity, media is vibrant and thriving; growing in an atmosphere that encourages and allows room for creativity and experimentation.  
 
Jwalant Swaroop Senior Media  Professional
 
It is time to celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit of young Indian professionals! More importantly it is first time that a Global company like Group M is making head quarter of one of its agency in India, it proves beyond doubt that India as a region has gained importance and that it is significant to locate global leadership out of this country. It is the most welcome move and I am sure many other agencies will follow this example. This will positively impact business in India and APAC since business is all about people. This development is a huge ray of hope and inspiration to all the young managers. It fills all hopeful with confidence and continues to do the good work for achieving global leadership out of India. It reassures the Indian clients and business groups about the talent available and what they get is a truly global perspective. It also raises the benchmark which many aspirants will try to achieve. 
 
Sanjay Tripathy, EVP & Head Marketing, HDFC Life
 
It is indeed a proud moment for India as Vikram will be the first Maxus CEO to be based in India. Maxus has been the fastest growing media agency globally for three consecutive years now, and I am sure that it will continue to soar high under Vikram's leadership. It is very satisfying to see talent from this region taking on larger, global roles.  This development will indeed give a great impetus to the Indian advertising and media industry. We can hope to further increase the momentum of business being generated from India and Asia Pacific. Creativity from this region will also get greater global recognition.
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