AD Agencies
Abhimanyu Khedkar appointed MD & head of office at Leo Burnett Mumbai
MUMBAI: Leo Burnett has handed the Mumbai reins to one of its own. Abhimanyu Khedkar has been elevated to managing director and head of office, Mumbai, capping a steady, decade-long rise within the agency and marking a new chapter for the creative powerhouse in India’s advertising capital.
Khedkar said he was happy to begin his new role at Leo Burnett. The promotion follows a rapid sequence of senior leadership positions, most recently as managing partner. Over the years, he has moved through the ranks from senior vice president to executive vice president, executive director and then managing partner, building a reputation for blending brand thinking with business results.
His career spans more than two decades across some of the country’s most influential agencies. Before Leo Burnett, Khedkar worked with BBH India as brand partner and spent over three years at O&M, where he handled the Marico business. Earlier stints include roles at Publicis Ambience and Percept H, where he began his journey in advertising.
With deep experience across FMCG brands, client leadership and agency management, Khedkar’s appointment signals continuity with momentum. For Leo Burnett Mumbai, it is a familiar face stepping into the corner office, and for the industry, another reminder that patience and persistence can still pay off in big ways.
AD Agencies
Publicis Brazil’s creative chief Mauro Ramalho lands the jury chair at Abby Awards 2026
Mauro Ramalho brings 25 years of global advertising firepower to the new creative commerce, use of data and B2B category at Goafest
GOA: The Abby Awards 2026, powered by The One Club and The One Show, has appointed Mauro Ramalho, chief creative officer of Publicis Brazil, as jury chair for its newly launched creative commerce, use of data and B2B category. The announcement, made on 18 March, signals the awards’ intent to bring serious international muscle to a category that sits squarely at the intersection of creativity and commercial performance.
Ramalho is not a name that needs much introduction in global advertising circles. Over 25 years spanning three countries, he has worked at some of the industry’s most creatively restless addresses. At AKQA in San Francisco, he worked across McDonald’s, Nike, Fox, Target, Kraft Foods and GAP, and helped lead “The Lost Ring” for McDonald’s, one of the first alternate reality campaigns and among the most awarded projects of its era. He later moved to Organic in Toronto, bridging the Detroit and Toronto offices on Dodge, Jeep and Chrysler, before spending over a decade building CUBOCC into one of Brazil’s most iconic and innovative independent agencies, which subsequently joined the IPG network.
A stint at FCB followed, where Ramalho led integrated work bridging online and offline, before he joined R/GA São Paulo as vice-president and executive creative director, stitching together the São Paulo office with New York, London, Portland and California on global clients including Verizon, Google, Meta, Samsung, American Express and Heineken. He now heads Publicis Brazil as its chief creative officer.
His trophy cabinet includes Clios, Effies, TikTok awards and MMA Smarties, and he has served on juries at the Andys, TikTok and the Lisbon Awards.
The Abby Awards 2026 is scheduled to take place at Goafest 2026 on 20, 21 and 22 May in Goa.
For Indian advertising, landing a jury chair of Ramalho’s calibre for a category built around data-driven creativity and commerce is a statement of ambition. Goafest just raised its own bar.
