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.”
MUMBAI: In India’s fast-moving payments race, Visa has just swiped in a new leader. The company has named Suresh Sethi as its India country head, marking a key leadership shift as it sharpens its focus on digital payments growth in the market. Sethi steps into the role following his recent exit from Protean eGov Technologies, where he served as chief executive officer. He succeeds Sandeep Ghosh, who has moved on after more than four years at Visa to pursue an external opportunity.
The appointment comes at a time when Visa is doubling down on its expansion strategy across India and the wider region, deepening partnerships and accelerating adoption in an increasingly competitive digital payments ecosystem.
Sethi brings with him a broad, cross-market perspective shaped by decades of experience across corporate banking, retail financial services, mobile money and large-scale government technology initiatives. He began his career at Citigroup, where he spent 14 years working across India, Africa, South America and the United States, focusing on transaction banking services within the corporate bank.
His appointment signals a blend of institutional experience and market familiarity qualities that could prove critical as Visa navigates a landscape where fintech innovation, regulatory evolution and consumer adoption are all accelerating at once.
As digital payments in India continue to scale rapidly, the leadership change underscores a simple reality, in a market where every tap, scan and swipe counts, who leads the charge can matter just as much as the technology itself.
