MAM
FCB Ulka names Kulvinder Ahluwalia as CEO
Mumbai: FCB Group India had recently announced the restructuring of its creative agencies and a new three agency structure – FCB Ulka, FCB Interface, and FCB India. In a follow-up announcement, FCB Ulka, the flagship agency of the group, has named Kulvinder Ahluwalia as CEO. The agency has also appointed Saad Khan as chief strategy officer, and Keigan Pinto as as chief creative officer.
The newly elevated C-Suite leadership team will lead the agency’s next phase of growth in India, it said in a statement on Monday.
In their previous roles, Ahluwalia, Khan, and Pinto were the trio heading the account management, strategic planning, and creative respectively at the agency’s Mumbai office.
“Ulka is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2021. It is only appropriate that on this momentous occasion, we start getting the agency ready for the next 60 years. And what better way to do this than recognizing talent from within,” FCB Ulka vice-chairman Nitin Karkare said. “Kulvinder, Saad, and Keigan have played a key role in building the Mumbai office of FCB Ulka. And I am delighted that they will now lead the agency into the future.”
Kulvinder Ahluwalia, who joined the agency in 1996 as a management trainee, as part of Star One – an entry-level program in the industry, is now the CEO in a demonstration of the agency’s strong commitment to long-term partnerships.
Chief creative officer Keigan Pinto is also a Bollywood musician, apart from being a deeply insightful creative leader, with a pulse on popular culture. He has been listed among the ‘Blazing Admakers’ of the country by Impact Magazine and his work has been awarded at the most prestigious national and international platforms.
With over two decades of diverse experience in advertising and brand consulting, chief Strategy Officer Saad Khan brings to work solid problem-solving skills and an attitude that questions formulaic marketing. An ardent advocate of detail, data, and behavioural economics, his approach to strategy is to remove all the noise to get to the core problem.
“I believe future-readiness starts with talent. Empowering and enabling our best talent to perform at their very best has always been at the heart of my organizational philosophy,” said FCB Group India chairman & CEO, Rohit Ohri. “This elevation of our shining stars makes me truly proud because it embodies the spirit of #talentaboveallelse and is a demonstration of our belief of growing our future leaders from within. This new leadership partnership structure is what will make us future-ready and power our creative transformation journey for the next decade and beyond.”
MAM
VML India lands two finalist spots at Cairns Hatchlings 2026
The Mumbai agency is back in Australia with two teams, a UN brief and 24 hours to impress
MUMBAI: VML India is heading to Australia again. The Mumbai-based creative agency has secured two finalist spots at the Cairns Hatchlings 2026 competition, one in the Audio category and one in Design, making it the only Indian agency to have reached the finals in both editions of the contest since its launch in 2025.
Four people will make the trip. Senior copywriter Shilpi Dey and senior art director Raj Thakkar will compete in Audio. Art directors Shabbir and Shruti Negi will go head-to-head with the world’s best in Design. The finals take place at the Cairns Convention Centre from 13th May, culminating in an awards ceremony on 15th May.
The work that got them there is worth examining. For the Audio category, Dey and Thakkar tackled a brief for LIVE LIKE MMAD with a campaign called Inner Voice, Interrupted. Using spatial audio techniques, the campaign recreates the overwhelming self-doubt that descends after a long workday, physically panning negative thoughts left and right before cutting the noise entirely to reveal a confident inner voice. Strategically targeted at commuters via Spotify during evening rush hours, the campaign reframes the hours after work as an opportunity for personal growth and charitable action.
For the Design category, Shabbir and Negi worked on a brief for Canteen’s Bandanna Day, a campaign highlighting how cancer pushes teenagers out of their own defining moments. Using a pixelated design language to create stark contrast between a blurred world of isolation and a focused world of connection, the campaign, titled The Flipside of Cancer, shows teenagers fading into the background of birthdays, skateparks and school proms. As a Canteen bandanna appears, the blur flips and the teenager snaps back into sharp focus.
Kalpesh Patankar, group chief creative officer of VML India, made no attempt to disguise his satisfaction. “We are immensely proud to see our teams consistently excel on the Cairns Hatchlings platform since its inception,” he said. “They have masterfully tackled challenging briefs across diverse categories, demonstrating both layered storytelling and a unique creative approach. This exceptional teamwork is truly inspiring.”
Dey and Thakkar, returning to the finals after last year’s run, were candid about the demands of the audio medium. “It’s one of the most demanding mediums, where we only have a few seconds to capture a listener’s world with sound alone, so absolute clarity is essential,” they said. “The true measure of creative work is its ability to create positive change, and our audio submission was made to help those who need it most while encouraging people to silence the inner voices that hold them back.”
Shabbir and Negi, competing in Design for the first time, described the experience as “a completely different beast.” “We see it as an opportunity to showcase our expertise, raise the bar, and challenge ourselves in new ways, while also learning from creative minds from across the globe,” they said.
In Australia, the four finalists will face a live 24-hour brief from the United Nations before presenting in a live pitch session. Twenty-four hours, one brief, one shot. VML India has been here before. It knows exactly what is at stake.
