FCB India Announces Newly Elevated C-Suite Leadership Team

FCB Group India recently announced the restructuring of its creative agencies and a new three agency structure - FCB Ulka, FCB Interface and FCB India. FCB India, the newest agency in the fold, led by Swati Bhattacharya as the creative chairperson, now announces its newly elevated C-Suite leadership team.  

The pandemic has fundamentally changed the rules of the game. It has caused the industry to question decades-old beliefs about how consumers behave and make choices. In an increasingly digitised marketplace of ever-increasing options, influencing consumer choice has become more complex than ever before. It is this tremendous complexity that informs FCB India’s belief system: that siloed, medium-first thinking is no longer enough to build powerful brands in today’s world.  

FCB India has been conceptualised as a hybrid new agency for a new era of hybrid  marketing, combining hybrid talent and hybrid thinking to unleash ‘hybrid creativity’ – powerful, unmissable, media-agnostic ideas that truly span the length and breadth of the  consumer journey. Five years down the line, riding on some key brand wins like Horlicks, Google India, Domino’s, Nokia Mobiles, Vistara, Uber, Merino Laminates, All Out, Baygon, Dranex and Mr Muscle, LivGuard, LivFast, McCain, Birla Fertility and IVF amongst others; this growth has given birth to an end-to-end independent and integrated agency - FCB India. 

In a marketplace inundated with specialist agencies, FCB India aims at bringing a multi disciplinary approach to creative ideation, drawing from fields as varied as design and data to media and marketing. 

FCB India will be led by Debarpita Banerjee as chief executive officer, Surjo Dutt as chief creative officer and John Thangaraj as chief strategy officer. In their previous roles, Debarpita, Surjo and John were president - North & East, national creative director and national planning director, respectively. 

Speaking on the occasion, Swati Bhattacharya, creative chairperson, FCB India, said: “When Debbie, Surjo, and John enter the room to solve a problem… you know it will be done. Very rarely do you see such chemistry and energy in the boardroom. They can afford to be terribly honest with each other, and that directly makes the idea shiny and the brand shinier!” 

Speaking on their appointment, Rohit Ohri, chairman & CEO, FCB Group India, said: “Hybrid thinking truly begins with hybrid talent. Debbie, Surjo and John’s diverse experience  across content marketing, media strategy and digital storytelling, respectively, uniquely positions them to deliver to the challenges of building and growing brands in today’s complex, ever-changing marketplace”. 

“Debbie, Surjo & John have been instrumental in growing the FCB brand across new clients, categories and markets. Having spent half a decade working with each other, they play off each other’s strengths, bring multiple perspectives to the table and form a formidable base  from which to further consolidate the tremendous equity they have already built. I wish them  the best in their new roles and have no doubt that they will lead FCB India into a new era of  success,” Rohit added.

Debarpita Banerjee - chief executive officer 

Debarpita Banerjee joined FCB in 2016 as president- North & East and now heads the agency as the CEO. A seasoned business leader with prior experience in both marketing and advertising, she headed marketing for National Geographic India in her previous role. She is a content enthusiast and also leads Fuel- the branded content and production arm at the agency. 

Surjo Dutt - chief creative officer 

Surjo Dutt joined FCB in 2016 as national creative director. In his previous role, he was heading creative for specialist digital agency Sapient Nitro. Surjo combines over two decades of advertising experience across both mainline and digital with a strong focus on filmmaking and creative disruption. 

John Thangaraj - chief strategy officer 

John Thangaraj joined FCB in 2016 as executive planning director. In his previous role, he was head of strategy- North for Mindshare. John brings close to twenty years of marketing communications expertise to the table, having worked across the ecosystem- from qualitative research & brand marketing to account planning, media strategy, and advertising.