WPP-owned VMLY&R India’s chief executive officer Pooja Jauhari has quit. Prior to this, Jauhari was the CEO of creative digital agency The Glitch. The Glitch was acquired by WPP in 2018 and later merged with the network’s digital marketing company, VMLY&R, in 2020. Jauhari was made VMLY&R India’s CEO in March 2022. Saurabh Saksena, president, Red Fuse Communications, will take over as VMLY&R India’s CEO.
Jauhari led the combined operations of WPP-owned companies VMLY&R, The Glitch, VMLY&R Commerce and GTB, across its three offices in India – Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai – plus its service of clients across the Indian subcontinent. She was also tasked with further integration of the network’s creative excellence in India.
Jauhari started her marketing career at JWT almost two decades ago, before moving on to Unilever and Worldwide Media. She joined The Glitch in 2013 and has been instrumental to its success, leading strategic planning for the agency, and setting its goals and approach to both business and culture.
Jauhari tells Storyboard18 that she going to adopt a slow-growth life. She will closely work with VMLY&R India’s integration process to maintain the agency’s growth and stability.
Talking about her stint at The Glitch, JauharI says, “It has been rewarding, humbling and full of learning. Running a small company and scaling it to what we were able to is the collective effort of an incredible and brave set of people. I’ve life lessons that have shaped me into the professional and person I am.”
Along with running the show at VMLY&R India, Jauhari also set up Seat At The Table, an initiative to bring diversity into the start-up ecosystem. She says, “Seat at The Table is my tiny effort in creating an unbiased space for founders of diverse backgrounds to truly get a seat at the table. SATT will continue to be an important part of my professional journey.”
Earlier this month, the founders of The Glitch, Varun Duggirala and Rohit Raj also moved on. Duggirala and Raj set up The Glitch in 2010. Currently, The Glitch is one of the leading, digitally-led creative agencies in India, with over 300 digital strategists, technologists, content creators and planners on-board. The agency works closely with brands like Netflix, Hindustan Unilever, LinkedIn, Lenovo, Diageo, Microsoft, Triller, among others.