Nirmalya Sen joins Havas Worldwide India as CEO

He recently ended his stint as president, TBWA India, after spending nine years at the agency

Nirmalya Sen, former president TBWA India, has joined Havas Worldwide India as CEO. He will report to Juan Rocamora, chairman and CEO, Havas Worldwide Asia Pacific.

In a press statement announcing the appointment, Havas clarifies: "No change is planned for the agency's management committee, comprising Satbir Singh, chief creative officer and managing partner; Shavon Barua, president, South and West; Sandeep Gupta, chief financial officer; and Sourav Ray, chief strategy officer, under the guidance of London-based Anish Gupta, who was appointed chairman (non-executive) earlier this year."

Andrew Benett, global CEO, Havas Worldwide and Havas Creative Group, says, "This is a timely and critical hire for Havas Worldwide India. We are bolstering our position in this important market. Our clients will quickly benefit from the value Nirmalya's leadership brings to the agency."

Sen adds, "I am delighted and honoured to be entrusted with the care of the Havas Worldwide brand in India. Havas Worldwide's proposition is unique: It combines the resources of a large, established global network with the innovative spirit of a young, new-age challenger brand. I'm very excited to work on growing and developing the agency's presence in India."

Sen began his career in the early 1990s as brand manager with Jenson & Nicholson, a company that markets paint. Ad agencies he has worked at prior to joining TBWA include Trikaya Grey (a move that marked his entry into the ad industry), Saatchi & Saatchi (where he worked for five years) and DDB Mudra (where he worked for another five years).

On the management front, this year has been an interesting one for TBWA India. Recall that in March, the agency lost its group CEO Shiv Sethuraman (now CEO, Percept One). TBWA replaced Sethuraman with Vineet Bajpai, who was previously CEO of Magnon TBWA, the agency's digital arm. Currently, Bajpai runs the TBWA India Group as CEO.

March was also when Sen was named president of TBWA India, prior to which he worked as managing director of the agency.

Brands Sen has worked on in his 20-year long career in the advertising industry include Nissan, Maruti Suzuki, Mitsubishi Motors, Nestle, Britannia, Dabur, Tata Tea, Pedigree, Electrolux, Adidas and HBO, among several others.