Havas India has announced the appointment of John Thangaraj as the chief strategy officer of Havas Creative Network India. His remit will include Havas Worldwide India (creative), Havas CX India (customer experience), Conran Design Mumbai (brand design), Ekino (technology), and Havas People India (employer branding). 

Thangaraj moves from FCB Group after an eight-year-long stint, where he was most recently group chief strategy officer. 

Based in Gurugram, he will report to Rana Barua, group CEO, Havas India, South East Asia and North Asia (Japan and South Korea).

Barua said, “Havas Creative Network India has gained tremendous scale and size over the last six years. One of the agencies which has seen unprecedented growth, new leaders, and tremendous business traction is Havas Worldwide India and therefore John will work closely with Anupama Ramaswamy and Kundan Joshee to further drive the growth of the agency. In addition, he will also work closely with Geet Nazir (Conran Design Mumbai), Prashant Tekwani (Havas CX India) and Arindam Sengupta (Havas People India) to further strengthen the strategic vision. He will further consolidate our client relationships and drive thought leadership to ensure meaningful business growth and help establish Havas Creative Network India as the most future-forward and progressive creative network conglomerate. I wish him all the best.”

Thangaraj said, "I couldn't be more excited to be embarking on this journey with Rana and the rest of the Havas India team. As the saying goes, it takes a village. And the Havas Village remains one of the most deeply and seamlessly integrated creative networks in the world. The opportunities to create meaningful client value across the entire chain are quite literally, limitless, and I can't wait to get started.”

In a career spanning over 20 years, Thangaraj has worked with Mindshare, MullenLowe Lintas Rediffusion and adidas, among others.