MAM
Havas Group India appoints Neeraj Bassi as chief strategy officer
MUMBAI: Havas Group India has further strengthened its leadership team with the appointment of Neeraj Bassi as the chief strategy officer, effective immediately. This is in sync with Havas Group’s aggressive growth strategy and its mission to create meaningful work for its clients.
In his new role, Neeraj will lead strategy and drive the next phase of growth across Havas Creative and Media and report to Havas Group India group CEO Rana Barua.
Bassi moves from Publicis India, where he was chief strategy officer and managing partner and leverages over two decades of varied experience, across categories. He has worked with some of the most reputed agencies like Ogilvy, Wunderman Thompson, McCann and renowned market research networks such as TNS, IMRB, NFO in India and overseas.
While Bassi is credited for many iconic brand campaigns, he has also provided strategic guidance and brand solutions for a host of brands including Unilever, Audi, Cadbury Dairy, BMW, Honda, Milk, Asian Paints, Unilever, Nestle, Philips, HSBC, Adidas, Voltas, Sprite, Max Life, and Dabur among others. He is also the recipient of multiple awards across reputed award forums in India and globally that recognises effectiveness like Effies (India & APAC), AME, WARC, etc.
Bassi is a passionate teacher at his alma-mater MICA and also closely involved with the placement process for MICA.
Barua said, “Neeraj has been in the industry for over two decades and comes with rich experience and insights in handling strategic planning across brands and categories. He has a proven track record of building brands successfully and positioning them ahead of their competitors. His strategic inputs and a deep understanding of the consumer mindset will further help us to make a meaningful difference to brands and consumers.”
Havas Group India group chairman and chief creative officer Bobby Pawar said, “Neeraj is a seasoned professional known for his deep strategic understanding of the brands. I am confident that his skill set, and experience will take Havas to new heights and will help us build a stronger foundation for the agency’s future. I am delighted to welcome Neeraj to the group and look forward to working with him and adding value to our client’s portfolio.”
“Our industry is in transition today, where consumers’ preferences and behaviours are evolving on a continuous basis and they are spending time engaging with a host of media platforms. In this dynamic context, the Havas Village way of working, is exactly what clients need. I am looking forward to working with the dynamic leadership at Havas and leveraging the true potential of the “Together” strategy, to drive growth of brands that we work on and to add value to our client’s business,” added Neeraj on his new role.
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.
