AD Agencies
Shantanu Sapre takes charge as chief business officer at MullenLowe Lintas Group
MUMBAI: Shantanu Sapre, a seasoned advertising leader with more than 25 years in the business, has been appointed chief business officer at MullenLowe Lintas Group. He stepped into the role in July after a three-year entrepreneurial run, where he was involved in tech start-ups building mobile apps in ticketing, quizzing and fantasy sports.
Sapre is no stranger to the agency. Over a 15-year stint at MullenLowe, he rose from executive vice president to president, steering some of its biggest business units and contributing nearly a quarter of its India revenues at his peak. He was instrumental in driving the agency’s “hyperbundling” solutions, pushing digital transformation, and broadening its client roster beyond FMCG to online, fashion, sport and media brands.
Earlier in his career, Sapre held leadership roles at Leo Burnett, TBWA, Euro RSCG and MTV Networks India, where he helped launch Viacom Brand Solutions. His portfolio includes campaigns for Bajaj Auto, Surf, Axis Bank, Johnson’s Baby, Burger King, FirstCry and Mumbai Indians. In 2015, Campaign Asia named him Account Person of the Year.
Back at MullenLowe, Sapre is expected to lean on his blend of big-agency heft and start-up agility to sharpen the group’s growth strategy, deepen client relationships and accelerate digital-led innovation.
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.
