McCann Worldgroup (MWG) India today announced a comprehensive restructuring of its leadership team, elevating Kamal Basu to executive director and chief growth officer and appointing Jyoti Mahendru as chief talent officer and national communication officer.
These strategic appointments mark a significant step in strengthening the agency’s market position and enhancing its client service capabilities in an evolving business landscape.
Basu, who has been with McCann Worldgroup since early 2023 as part of the leadership team, brings extensive industry experience to his new role. His advertising career spans leading agencies including Rediffusion DY&R, Ogilvy, and culminated at Saatchi & Saatchi where he served as CEO in India. Basu has worked with clients such as Unilever, Procter & Gamble, American Express, and British Airways.
Prior to rejoining the advertising world at McCann, Basu spent a decade in the automotive industry, heading marketing at Skoda and Volkswagen, where he had launched iconic brands including Octavia, Rapid, Beetle, and Tiguan.
Mahendru joins MWG India with over 25 years of experience as an HR leader. An MBA graduate from the IMT Ghaziabad, she brings expertise in designing end-to-end HR frameworks for large corporations, with specific focus on culture management, coaching and mentoring, talent management and engagement, and organizational transformation.
Before joining McCann Worldgroup, Mahendru was with VML India, where she played a crucial role in stabilizing teams and led the integration of people, culture, and structure across multiple agencies during their merger to form VML.
“I am absolutely thrilled to be back at McCann to work with a stalwart like Prasoon – it truly feels like coming home. I look forward to contributing meaningfully and making a real difference,” said Mahendru.
In her new role, Mahendru’s strategic focus will be on attracting the right talent, developing high-performance and agile teams in a fast-evolving business landscape, implementing people-centric policies, and embracing employee wellbeing, diversity, and inclusion.
“The new structure of MWG India’s McCann in India will enable the company’s best people to provide focused and dedicated partnership to clients,” said Prasoon Joshi, Chairman McCann Asia Pacific and CEO & CCO McCann Worldgroup India.
“This will help bring disruptive creativity, agility, and fluidity to the table, which are crucial for transforming clients’ businesses and creating iconic brands in the current business landscape. By leveraging the expertise and creativity of its best employees, MWG India can provide its clients with the guidance and support they need to succeed in today’s highly competitive market,” he stated.
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