Rana Barua joins Havas Group as CEO with immediate effect

Havas Group has bolstered its leadership strength with the appointment of Rana Barua as CEO of Havas Group India. This is in sync with Havas Group’s overall global strategy of accelerating integration by breaking silos across creative and media functions, the agency said in a statement.

In his new role, Barua’s mandate will be to chart Havas India’s journey of transformation and exponential growth with a focus on collaboration and partnerships, new business momentum, and building & leading future-ready teams.

Barua will report to Vishnu Mohan, Chairman & CEO of Havas Group, India & Southeast Asia, and work closely with the existing leadership teams. The appointment is effective immediately.

An innovative brand and marketing communications leader with over 22 years of experience, Barua has held CEO roles with Contract India, Creativeland Asia, as well as worked with agencies such as Ogilvy, Rediffusion Y&R, McCann, JWT and held leadership profiles in leading radio stations such as Red FM and Radio City.

The appointment also marks evolution of Havas Group’s “Together” strategy that brings together Havas Group agencies of different disciplines — creative, media, health — within a single location known as Havas Village under a unified, client-centric leadership structure with the creation of a Group CEO position.

Commenting on the appointment, Mohan said: “Rana’s appointment is a key milestone in the Group’s ongoing efforts to build agile teams and integrated structures to deliver the most impact for clients. Rana is an ideal candidate as his expertise will build on what we have already achieved in India and take Havas Group India forward in its next phase of growth and expansion. Not only will his leadership strengthen our integrated product but also facilitate the collaboration between Havas Group and other Vivendi companies — Universal Music, GameLoft, Daily Motion — to create a powerful marketing force, unique only to Havas Group in the market. As a group, we are committed in our efforts to make Havas Group an indomitable force in the industry and Rana’s appointment is the first of a number of significant appointments and developments to move us ahead in that direction. I am delighted to welcome Rana to the Havas family and I am confident that he will propel Havas Group India in its next phase of evolution.”

Barua said, “The growing complexity of platforms and channels calls for a multi-dimensional approach to marketing and advertising and the Havas Village model of collaboration and integration is exactly what clients are looking for. I am extremely excited to be a part of Havas Group’s futuristic agency model and looking forward to working with the team to start a new chapter for Havas Group in India.”