MAM
L&K Saatchi & Saatchi appoints Avinash Jakhalekar as group creative director
Mumbai: Integrated business and brand growth agency L&K Saatchi & Saatchi has appointed Avinash Jakhalekar as group creative director. In this role, he will be based out of Mumbai and report to L&K Saatchi & Saatchi jt NCD Kartik Smetacek, the agency said on Tuesday.
Over his 14-year professional career stint, Jakhalekar has worked across Lowe Lintas, Publicis Ambience, DDB Mudra and Network Advertising in various creative roles. After spending three years at Network Advertising, he moved on to DDB Mudra where he managed creatives on brands like Top Gear & Lavasa. His next career move was with Publicis Ambience as senior creative director – art where he worked on brands like Zee TV, Nerolac, Skoda, Citibank, SonyLIV, Brand Factory etc. He then moved on to Lowe Lintas where he was associated with brands like Mumbai Indians, Ultra Tech, Jameson Whiskey, ICICI Pru, Freecharge etc.
Welcoming him to the agency, Kartik Smetacek said, “Avinash embodies the perfect qualities that I look for in creative person – equal parts talent, energy and resilience. We’re thrilled to have him aboard and look forward to him putting his amazing craft and can-do attitude to work on some of our key businesses.”
Jakhalekar has managed creative output and rendition for a host of brands across agencies including UltraTech, Mumbai Indians, ICIC Pru, Zee TV, Citibank, Skoda, MX Player, Brand Factory, Burger King, Nerolac Paints among others.
Some of his work for brands like Lions Club, Yolo Homes, Natural Ice-cream, Zee TV etc. have gone on to win accolades at prominent award festivals like Goafest Abby, Effie India etc.
Speaking on his role and responsibility at L&K Saatchi & Saatchi, Jakhalekar said, “It’s an exciting opportunity to be working for an agency that has been making heads turn with its noteworthy work over the past two years. The entrepreneurial spirit within the agency is one of the reasons that made me want to join. I can’t wait to get started and work alongside a fantastic team in producing some great work.”
AD Agencies
Omnicom Q4: Posts big revenue gains amid restructuring
Company trims underperforming units and launches $5B share buyback to reward investors.
MUMBAI: Omnicom has decided that in the world of global advertising, it is better to be a big fish in an even bigger pond. The marketing powerhouse, which recently swallowed its rival IPG, has kicked off 2026 by showing the market that it is not just buying growth – it is engineering it. In a series of bold strategic manoeuvres, the group has doubled its projected cost-savings target to a whopping $1.5 billion over the next three years.
The fourth-quarter results for 2025, released on 18 February 2026, paint a picture of a company in the midst of a massive structural makeover. Reported revenue for the quarter shot up 27.9 per cent to $5,528.8 million, a figure heavily bolstered by the first full month of IPG’s operations under the Omnicom umbrella. For the full year, revenue reached $17,271.9 million, marking a 10.1 per cent increase as the company integrated heavyweights like Acxiom Real iD and Flywheel Commerce Cloud into its next generation Omni platform.
However, bigger does not always mean tidier. The group reported a Gaap net loss of $941.1 million for the final quarter, or $4.02 per diluted share. This was primarily due to a massive $1.1 billion bill for severance and real estate repositioning, alongside a $543.4 million loss on the sale of non-strategic businesses. When these one-off integration headaches are stripped away, the underlying performance looks far more robust, with adjusted net income reaching $607.7 million and earnings per share of $2.59, comfortably ahead of the prior year’s $2.41.
The group is also trimming the fat elsewhere. Management has identified underperforming and non-strategic units representing approximately $2.5 billion in revenue for exit or sale. Meanwhile, smaller majority-owned markets bringing in $700 million are being moved to minority positions. This portfolio pruning is designed to focus the New Omnicom on higher-growth areas like media, creative content, and data-driven consulting.
Investors, it seems, are being kept sweet with a significant return of capital. The board has approved a fresh $5 billion share repurchase program, initiating an immediate $2.5 billion accelerated buyback. This comes on top of $549.6 million paid out in common dividends during the year.
Performance across the sectors was a mixed bag but generally positive in the heavy-hitting divisions. Media and advertising revenue surged 34.4 per cent in the fourth quarter to $3,322.6 million, while public relations grew 12.4 per cent to $500.8 million. On the flip side, branding and retail commerce saw a 7.0 per cent dip. Regionally, the US remains the engine room, with revenue jumping 51.9 per cent to $2,869.1 million in the quarter, while the UK saw a respectable 18.8 per cent rise to $533.2 million.
With a total debt of $9.1 billion following the IPG acquisition, the group is leaning on its cash-generative nature to keep its investment-grade credit rating intact. Free cash flow for the year stood at $2,226.1 million, up from $1,964.7 million in 2024. As the company moves into 2026, the focus is firmly on the Connected Capability model, essentially ensuring that its global army of talent is pulling in the same direction, and more importantly, within a much leaner budget.
