Hakuhodo Percept ropes in Jayanto Banerjee as national planning director

Banerjee, who has more than 19 years of experience, comes in from Bates India. Based in the Delhi office, Banerjee will guide the planning function and spearhead I-HPPL discovery.

Jayanto Banerjee (aka Banjo, as he is better known) has joined Hakuhodo Percept as national planning director. He will work closely with agency leaders across all major brands and clients handled by the agency.

Based at the Delhi office of the agency, Banerjee will guide the planning function and spearhead 'I-HPPL discovery', the consumer knowledge centre that focuses on understanding youth in India.

Banerjee moves in from Bates India, where he was executive vice-president for the past four years.

Elvis Sequeira, executive director, Hakuhodo Percept, says, "At Hakuhodo Percept, we place huge emphasis on multi-talented, versatile professionals, and Banjo is a shining example of someone who can partner our clients brilliantly. Apart from his planning experience, Banjo also brings with him the experience of heading agency offices, the experience of starting a digital and PR set up from scratch and the experience of having worked across five cities in India and West Asia."

"I am excited to be part of the Hakuhodo Percept team. Hakuhodo globally has a great planning culture and I look forward to doing some exciting work," comments Banerjee in an official communiqué.

An alumnus of Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management and St. Xavier's College, Kolkata, Banerjee has more than 19 years of experience in senior management, strategic planning and client servicing across Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Dubai and Muscat.

Banerjee started his career with Lintas in 1993 as account manager, where he continued for 31 months. In 1995, he joined Euro RSCG India as associate vice-president. After spending more than six years at the agency, he moved to Euro RSCG, Dubai as regional planning director in 2002 and spent more than six years as the head at the agency's office.

Later, in 2008, he joined Bates India as executive vice-president and worked there for four years before moving on to Hakuhudo Percept.

Some of the key businesses that Banjo has worked closely on are Reckitt Benckiser, Jaguar, Philips, Nissan, Infiniti, Renault, Dabur, Max Bupa, Air France, Oman Air, Saks Fifth Avenue, Evian, Hitachi, Bajaj Auto, Radico, Win Medicare and Sanofi Aventis.