Digital Agencies
Havas Life Sorento elevates Sachin Talwalkar to chief creative officer
Mumbai: Havas Group India’s health, wellness, marcom and digital agency Havas Life Sorento on Friday elevated its executive creative director, Sachin Talwalkar, to chief creative officer.
As a part of his new role, Sachin will be responsible for further bolstering the agency’s creative and communications excellence through Havas Life Sorento’s offering in healthcomm. He will also be responsible for expanding the agency’s scope through digital health, health CX, and consumer health within India, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, effectively making India the hub of excellence for Havas Health & You. The aim is to become the ‘go-to’ and cutting-edge healthcomm agency in the region.
Speaking about the elevation, Havas Group India chairman & CCO Bobby Pawar said, “Sachin’s elevation is in recognition of the role he’s played in transforming Havas Life Sorento over the last few years. He has brought in better talent and has fostered a climate where they can do their best work while having fun in the process. He has evolved the creative department based on my belief that creatives with traditional and digital skills must work together so that they infect each other and, in the process, become more rounded creatives. Lastly, he’s been a great partner to me, always ready to help out with anything.”
Havas Life Sorento managing director Sangeeta Barde added, “I am confident that with this elevation, Sachin will continue to make a difference to health and wellness communications and will create a team of passionate people under him who will set the creative benchmark within the industry and the region.”
Talwalkar commented, “The new role is testament to Havas Life Sorento’s journey in the last years. We have not only expanded in size and stature but also challenged ourselves to explore new avenues, which has set the course for us to grow and become “the partner agency” in the healthcomm space in the coming years. I am excited about my new role and what’s to come.”
Since joining Havas Life Sorento in 2020, Sachin has been responsible for driving the agency’s creative vision and strategy through industry-recognised work for clients including Viatris, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Zydus Healthcare, Abbott, Bayer, Glenmark, and many more.
His creative endeavours have aided the agency in strengthening client relationships, organic business opportunities, and attracting bright young talent, paving the way for it to become the region’s leading health-communications agency and a valued partner within the global Havas Health & You (HH&Y) network.
Sachin believes in creating brand narratives that are culturally relevant and inspired by real-life human insights. In his 20 plus years of industry experience, Sachin has worked across geographies in Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Asia Pacific with network agencies. His work has been recognised by major awards, including Spikes Asia, Ad Club Germany, Mobius, Eurobest, Epica, Cresta, NY Festival, Clio, Montreux Ad Festival, Ad Club Austria, Econ Awards, FAB Awards, and LIAA.
BENGALURU: For years, creative teams have learned to live with ambiguity. Vague comments, last-minute changes, feedback that arrives without context, clarity, or conviction. It became part of the job – something teams worked around rather than getting it solved.
But as we head into 2026, that tolerance is wearing thin.
Creative work today moves faster, scales wider, and involves more stakeholders than before. Teams are producing more content across more formats, often with distributed collaborators and tighter timelines. In this environment, guesswork is no longer a harmless inconvenience. It’s a cost – to time, to budgets, and to creative mindspace.
The real problem isn’t feedback, it’s how it’s given
Most creative professionals you see today will tell you they’re not against feedback. In fact, they rely on it. Good feedback sharpens ideas, strengthens execution, and pushes work forward. The problem is ‘unclear’ feedback. When someone says “this doesn’t feel right” without context, they aren’t just revising – they’re basically decoding. They’re guessing what the problem might be, trying different directions, and burning time in the process. Multiply that by a few stakeholders and a few rounds, and suddenly days disappear.
In 2026, when teams are expected to deliver faster without compromising quality, interpretation is a luxury most can’t afford.
Scale has changed rverything
Creative projects used to be smaller and simpler. A designer, a manager, maybe one client contact. Feedback loops were short, even if they weren’t perfect.
Today, the same project might involve internal marketing teams, agencies, freelancers, brand reviewers, and regional teams. Everyone has a say. Everyone leaves comments. And often, those comments don’t agree. More people reviewing work means alignment matters more than ever. Clear feedback isn’t just about being nice to creative teams, it’s about keeping projects moving when complexity increases.
Guesswork quietly wears teams down
One of the less talked-about impacts of unclear feedback is what it does to people.
When feedback is vague or contradictory, creatives second-guess their decisions. They hesitate. They overwork. They keep extra time buffers “just in case.” Over time, confidence drops. Ownership fades. Work becomes safer, not stronger. Creative energy gets spent on managing uncertainty instead of pushing ideas forward. And in an industry already grappling with burnout, unclear feedback adds unnecessary mental load.
Actionable feedback is a shared skill
Clear feedback doesn’t mean controlling creative decisions or dictating every detail. It means being specific enough that someone knows what to do next.
Actionable feedback answers three basic questions:
What exactly needs attention?
Why does it matter?
What outcome are we aiming for?
This applies whether you’re reviewing a video frame, a design layout, or a copy draft. The clearer the feedback, the fewer follow-ups it creates. In 2026, teams that treat feedback as a skill and not an afterthought, will move faster with less friction.
Tools shape behaviour (whether we admit it or not)
The way feedback is delivered is often dictated by the tools teams use. Comments buried in long email threads, messages split across chat apps, or notes detached from the actual work all contribute to confusion.
When feedback lives outside the work, context often gets lost. When it’s disconnected from versions and timelines, decisions get questioned. When it’s scattered, accountability disappears. More teams are starting to realise that feedback problems aren’t just communication issues, they’re workflow issues. How work moves between people matters just as much as the work itself.
From Opinions To Alignment
One of the biggest shifts happening in creative teams is a move away from purely opinion-driven feedback. Instead of “I like this” or “I don’t,” teams are asking better questions:
● Does this meet the brief?
● Does this solve the problem?
● Does this align with the goal?
This change reduces unnecessary back-and-forth and helps feedback feel less personal and more productive. It also makes decisions easier to explain and defend. As creative work becomes more strategic, feedback has to support that shift.
2026 Is About Fewer Loops, Not Faster Loops
There’s a misconception that speed means moving through feedback cycles faster. In reality, the most creative teams aren’t just accelerating loops, they’re reducing them. Clear, actionable feedback upfront leads to fewer revisions later. Clear approval stages prevent last-minute surprises. Clear decisions stop work from circling endlessly.
In 2026, efficiency won’t come from working harder or longer. It will come from designing workflows that respect creative time and attention.
Ending guesswork is a mindset change
Ultimately, ending creative guesswork isn’t just about better tools or processes. It’s about mindset. It’s about recognising that clarity is an act of respect – for the work, for the people doing it, for the time invested and for the mindspace used. It’s about moving from “figure it out” to “here’s what we’re aiming for.”
Creative teams that embrace this shift will find themselves not only delivering faster, but also enjoying the process more. And in an industry built on imagination, that might be the most valuable outcome of all.
