During his earlier eight-year stint with Leo Burnett, Sridhar became famous as "the man with the Midas touch". He literally led the agency's creative resurgence and was responsible for some great, internationally recognised work: Burnett's first Cannes Lion for "Forte"; the Complan print campaign; the Coca-Cola international print ad; and the Sonora tiles campaign; both awarded at the Asia Pacific Festivals; the Abby-winning Bajaj campaign.

Other milestones include winning the Grand Global for "Eye Balls", an ad encouraging eye donation at New York Festivals; bagging six Awards at Ad Fest; being awarded twenty six 7+s by the Leo Burnett Global Product Committee; winning the Coke, Thums Up and Bajaj Bikes businesses.

At Lowe, Sridhar was behind the "Ghattam" commercial for Pepsodent (his first with Balki), Saint Gobain "Black Women", Bajaj Saffire "Crushed Paper", Parker with Amitabh Bachchan, LG "Cricket First", LG Art Cool "Art Gallery", the summer campaign for LG Golden eye televisions and the very recent Bajaj "Hoodibaba".

According to a press release, the greatest assets that Sridhar brings with him to Leo Burnett are his great understanding and perspective on how Indian society and culture is changing with time; a knack for cutting edge work; and a bagful of ideas on how to raise Burnett's creative output to a new level.

As one who is extremely critical of falling creative standards, Leo Burnett India chairman and CEO Arvind Sharma definitely feels that Sridhar's second stint in Leo Burnett India is a planned move. "For us, 2003 is a year of major investment in creative. And while we have been a frequent presence at international award shows, Sridhar's mandate now is to make us into a creative force far beyond award shows - both in India and globally," Sharma says.

Another advantage is the fact that Sridhar is familiar with the agency's clients. He is also famous for his gift of getting the best out of people and is until now remembered by Burnetters as the one who "creates great stuff wherever he goes".