Havas Group India has announced the appointment of Tarun Jha as chief executive officer of Havas Creative India, which includes agencies Havas Worldwide India (Mumbai/Gurgaon/Bangalore), Havas CX (Customer Experience), Conran Design Group Mumbai (Branding & Design) and Havas QED (Kolkata).
Jha, in his most recent position, was head of marketing at Škoda Auto India, where he spent 15 years. He was leading the marketing and product planning function for the Indian market, setting marketing and communications strategy.
As per the company, reporting to Rana Barua, Group CEO, Havas Group India, the appointment of Jha is on the back of a significant period of growth for Havas Group.
Barua, commenting on the appointment said “As Havas Creative Group India gears up for a new phase of growth, it was imperative to have someone such as Tarun, with an insider’s perspective, helming the new direction the network takes, truly pushing the envelope of what Havas Creative India can achieve in terms of client-first approaches and meaningful, innovative business solutions.”
Jha, chief executive officer, Havas Creative India said, “I am impressed at how Havas Group India has put their vision into practice. The ambitious plans for growth, both organic and inorganic, and the new age conversations and offerings for client partners is distinctly different which makes Havas Group arguably the most exciting communication network. The Village philosophy and the overall Meaningful Brand conversation is something that resonates deeply with my beliefs.”
With an overall experience of 24 years in brand building across several sectors, Jha started his career in advertising and spent 5 years before making a lateral shift to marketing. His eventual move to Mahindra & Mahindra helped him find his calling in automotive marketing. He joined Škoda India in 2008 and spent 15 years with the company including a 3-year stint in Prague, Czech Republic.