World’s largest global communications company, Havas Group India welcomes Neeraj Bassi as the Chief Strategy Officer to strengthen its leadership team. On its mission to put forth an aggressive growth strategy in creating more meaning work for its clients, Neeraj, a celebrated brand strategist, will act as sole growth driver across Havas Creative and Media. Neeraj’s appointment will be effective immediately and further, he will be reporting to Rana Barua, Group CEO, Hawas Group India.

Rana says “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.”

Prior to the appointment, Neeraj was working with Publicis India as Chief Strategy Officer & Managing Partner. As a strategist, he boasts of having collective experience of over two decades in serving various reputed agencies like Ogilvy, Wunderman Thompson, McCann and renowned market research networks such as TNS, IMRB, NFO in India and overseas. For strategic growth of Hawas Group India, he will be a true asset for the company to climb the stairs of success.

Bobby Pawar, Group Chairman & Chief Creative Officer, Havas Group India, says “Neeraj is a seasoned professional known for his deep strategic understanding of the brands.

His strategic inputs and a deep understanding of the consumer mindset will further help us to make a meaningful difference to brands and consumers

I am confident that his skill set and experience will take Havas to new heights and will help us to 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.”

The ability to relate ideas as a part of life happens to be a true specialty of Neeraj's ideas, which results in greater customer engagement in returns. He has been credited as the brand icon of many campaigns where he leveraged strategic guidance in hosting for Unilever, Audi, Cadbury Dairy, BMW, Honda, Milk, Asian Paints, Unilever, Nestle, Philips, HSBC, Adidas, Voltas, Sprite, Max Life, and Dabur among others. Furthermore, he is also a passionate teacher at his institute named MICA and also takes close participation in the placement process as well. His expertise is honored with many accolades time-over-time, from reputed award forums like Effies (India & APAC), AME, WARC and others, both nationally and globally.

“Our industry is in transition today, where consumer’s preferences and behaviors are evolving on a continuous basis and they are spending time engaging with a host of media platforms. In this dynamic context, Havas Village’s 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 the growth of brands that we work on and to add value to our client’s business,” added Neeraj on his new role.