Gautam Reghunath, CEO, dentsu Webchutney, and PG Aditiya, chief creative officer, dentsu Webchutney, will be leaving the agency early next year to set up their own venture.
Post their exits, Sidharth Rao, CEO, dentsuMB, who founded the agency, will take charge of dentsu Webchutney.
Rao said, “Gautam and PG have been the two most defining hires in our history. As a founder, you want your people to find their calling at the company you build, and the legacy the two of them leave behind is the best possible example of this. From joining at entry-level positions in 2010 and 2012 respectively, and rising to the very top through hard work, passion and just simply being the best in the business at their jobs. It’s a story that makes me believe that we’ve created an organisation where anyone can shine. And now, they have a chance to do it for themselves as creative entrepreneurs.”
He added, “There is a lot that we at dentsu Webchutney owe them but none more so than the culture they’ve created for us all to thrive in. Business, clients and talent-wise Webchutney today is at its strongest position ever. Today, we celebrate their leadership. They’ve also assembled an outstanding leadership group, an army of superstars across all levels, all of whom give me and the rest of dentsu’s management immense confidence in how we will march forward as a company."
Reghunath and Aditiya said, "There is no other agency or network in the country where we would have had the chance to build our careers like we have at dentsu and at Webchutney. We’ve spent nearly 90% of our careers here, so moving on is not a decision we’re taking lightly. Our personal views of what success, failure, and everything else in between looks like have been shaped at Webchutney and the people that we’ve had the privilege of working with and leading here. We’re so proud and thankful for how it’s all panned out."
They added, "As for the future, we’re more excited than ever about this wonderful business and have a few ideas germinating in our heads—ones that we get to build out. But for now, we’ve got a few more months left in this dream job, and we’re just going to try and maximise every minute of it. There are so many exciting new pieces of work launching over the next few months, some of them possibly the best work we’ve ever had the chance to be a part of. The best years of Webchutney are ahead of it and we’ll be cheering from the very front."
In the last four months, dentsu India, has seen the departures of
Haresh Nayak (president, and MD, Posterscope),
Shamsuddin Jasani (MD - South Asia, Isobar),
Anand Bhadkamkar (CEO, dentsu India),
Gautam Mehra (chief data and product officer, Apac);
Rubeena Singh (CEO, iProspect); and
Vivek Bhargava (head of Dentsu Performance Group).