Leo Burnett ropes in Amritraj Thakur as Vice President

Continuing on the philosophy of hiring the best talent in the industry, Leo Burnett has appointed Amritraj Thakur as Vice President - Planning at its Delhi office.

In his new role Amritraj will work closely with Antony Rajkumar, Executive Vice President, Integrated Strategy Planning, Leo Burnett, in sharpening the agency’s strategic focus on key clients.

Amritraj started his career in advertising in 1999 and soon left the industry to become a specialist in the consulting space. He moves back to advertising with Leo Burnett after a long hiatus, and having worked with many multinational clients in diverse areas such as strategy planning, business analysis, consumer research, etc.

He joins from Intellecap Consulting, India, where he was the Associate Vice President.

Samir Gangahar, President – North, Leo Burnett India, said, “Amritraj comes with rich experience in communications and more recently in consultancy. In him, we have found a strategist who has the ability to grasp business problems and think through compelling solutions that will add value to clients’ businesses. In his experience of over 15 years, he has acted as the change enabler for many clients across industries. I’m sure his strength in strategy and business analysis will prove to be an incredible asset to us.”

Antony Rajkumar, Executive Strategy Planning, Leo Burnett India, added, "Amritraj has spent a large part of his career in the consulting space, solving business problems for both Indian and International clients. That experience coupled with his temperament, natural intelligence and passion to study and influence human behaviour, will add tremendous value to our clients' businesses, and thus for the agency itself. It’s great to have someone like him on the team."

Amritraj said, “Leo Burnett’s outlook on how the client’s business is evolving and the role communication companies can play in the change is spot on. I’m truly excited to be a part of the team that believes in defining the purpose for brands and creating targeted and meaningful conversations with consumers. After having worked in the consulting space for more than 10 years, I was looking to get back to advertising. I would be foolish to have missed the Leo Burnett opportunity, as it has in its team some of the finest strategic thinkers in the country.”

Amritraj is an alumnus of Warwick Business School, UK, and has extensive experience of working in Asian and European markets across industries in the corporate and public sector. Over the years Amritraj has worked with Unilever, Bosch, NCSoft, RDF Media, Danone, in designing new market entry strategies, implementing sustainable business models, managing marketing and communication requirements and new product launches.