Ajit Varghese, MD, South Asia, Maxus, has been promoted to the role of CEO, Asia Pacific at the agency. Varghese takes over from Neil Stewart, who will move to a newly created position of chief client officer, Maxus Global.
Relocating to Singapore, Varghese will report to Mark Patterson, CEO, GroupM Asia Pacific, and Vikram Sakhuja, CEO, Maxus Global. The elevation is effective January 2014.
"We are in the process of finalising the new Maxus head for India. Ajit will continue to be based in India till end of this year and help with the transition," said CVL Srinivas, CEO, GroupM South Asia.
He added, "Ajit has been an outstanding leader for Maxus and a great ambassador for GroupM. He combines intellect with a passion for delivering the best value for his clients. He has helped create a very unique culture at Maxus and truly embodies the Maxus spirit. All of us at GroupM are very proud of his achievements and wish him the very best in his new role".
Vikram Sakhuja, CEO Maxus Global, said, "Ajit has displayed exceptional leadership to make Maxus one of India's best and biggest agencies. With this promotion, I am very excited that Ajit will now lead Maxus Apac. I have no doubt that with his brand of entrepreneurial leadership, Maxus Apac will scale new heights. "
Varghese said, "The last seven years at Maxus has been an exciting journey; we have built a strong portfolio of clients, secured their trust, delivered them a world-class product and picked up many accolades along the way. We have worked hard to develop our value proposition, building a Maxus spirit and culture that will help sustain and propel our business in the coming years. I’m now looking forward to learning and contributing more to Maxus and GroupM across the region and am sure the journey will be as exciting and fruitful in the coming years. India obviously continues to be part of my scope and will remain close to my heart."