CEO Insights Magazine

Sunish Jose, the steward of growth, is a passionate brand advocate who enjoys the dynamic process of transforming an enterprise into a brand in the spotlight. He finished his Management course at the prestigious Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode. With Agility, Accountability, & Authenticity at the core of his leadership style, he explored the marketing domain by working with some of the best companies like Accenture, Bank of America, and others. Currently, he is leading Global Hubs within Publicis Groupe in India as the CEO, primarily focused on Global clients for the company. Interestingly, he was the leader of choice for Publicis Groupe to set the global delivery business and scale the organization manifold.

Speaking of the segment we operate, i.e., global services, there's definitely a huge pivot to the Indian market. In close to two decades of his professional journey, Sunish built marketing strategies tailored for each of the markets & consumer segments to engage customers and deliver brand metrics. He orchestrated cross-functional teams to yield innovations and meet the changing demands. With hands-on experience in tier 1 companies operating in Banking, Financial, FMCG, Pharma, Auto, etc., he could build strategies that led to profitable growth. He used several research strengths to aid in decision-making and building growth models. Interestingly, he was the leader of choice for Publicis Groupe to set the global delivery business and scale the organization manifold.

Recognizing Sunish's contributions, CEO Insights engages in an exclusive interview with him. Below are the excerpts.

Throw some light on your professional background & experience.
Almost two decades ago, I started my career as an analyst with IBM. After working for a couple of years, I took a break to pursue MBA. Post which, I joined a reputed marketing research firm & that marked my foray into the marketing industry. Since then, there has been no turning back! I'm fortunate to have worked with some top companies, including Publicis Groupe. It is now my second stint here. It was between 2012 and 2015 that I joined the brand as Vice President and Head of the Global Operations Center. In 2019, I was invited again to lead Publicis Groupe - GDD. Today, it has evolved into a much larger organization than what we had expected it to be.

How would you define your role in Publicis? What is the unique proposition that your organization offers to its clients?
I am primarily responsible for two business lines of the company. One is the Publicis Global Delivery and then the Publicis Hubs in India called Pubhub which collectively is a highly talented team of around 1500 marketing professionals. We serve global clients and our own group agencies with their marketing requirements across all channels like social, display, Technology, video, production, and content. In short, we are a 360-degree marketing services organization working with several Fortune 500 brands and providing them solutions in terms of a digital delivery strategy, planning, and marketing services in offshore and scalable models.

As a young leader, how do you maintain the perfect balance between your personal & professional life? What is your success mantra?
The answer to this popular question

depends on what we prioritize at that particular time. At times professional side demands your complete focus, and sometimes the personal side needs attention. It is hard to have a perfect balance in this challenging environment. There is no secret mantra to maintaining a good work-life balance except having a great support system around you. Be that as it may, I have been fortunate to have a supportive family on the personal front. At the same time, I owe a great deal of appreciation to each one of my colleagues, clients, and other stakeholders for being extremely understanding. It is crucial to create a supportive and positive ecosystem for youngsters struggling to manage their personal and professional life.

Moving forward, what are the changes in market behavior that you anticipate & what opportunities do you foresee?
Speaking of the segment operating in, i.e., the global services, there's definitely a huge pivot to the Indian market. It is set to scale, especially by being in the sweet spot on talent availability. I think the talent pool in the country is highly recognized and acknowledged globally. And, that's not just for the classic delivery assumptions but also for upstream work and fully integrated roles. For instance, sitting in India, we serve our many global clients with end-to-end mandates and marketing solutions, similar to a team sitting right next to them. We have the advantage of a well structured global ecosystem acknowledging India as a key market to operate. To people looking forward to pursuing this space, I believe it is a great time to start, because the shifting focus from mainstream to digital in all aspects sets many opportunities in the years to come.

Sunish Jose, Chief Executive Officer, Publicis Global Delivery & Pubhub
Sunish believes that agility, transparency, inclusiveness and diversity in talent have been the key driving factors of his leadership approach. He says that having a diverse mix of talents can help leaders not get into the comfort of dealing with similar people & challenge the status quo