Publicis Groupe appoints Ajay Thrivikraman as chief creative officer, Southeast Asia

Publicis Groupe has appointed Ajay Thrivikraman as chief creative officer for Southeast Asia.

Thrivikraman, who has used the surname Vikram in the past but now prefers to use his full name, will join the Southeast Asia leadership team reporting in to Amrita Randhawa, CEO of Publicis Groupe Singapore and Southeast Asia and Natalie Lam, chief creative officer of Publicis Groupe APAC and MEA.

Thrivikraman was earlier chief creative officer, global clients, leading the creative work for Publicis Groupe’s dedicated units for P&G and Tiger Beer. 

Thrivikraman's appointment, according to the company, is expected to lift creativity within the region and help creative teams "embrace a modern definition of creativity and make a mark in the market, making Publicis Groupe a leader in creativity in Southeast Asia". 

Randhawa said increasingly creative thinking was coming from all lines of the network's business. "You need a leader who not only is a master in creativity itself but has the collaborative spirit to bring people together, the mentorship skills to identify and build great talent across the business, and the humility to continue to be curious and learn," she said.

Thrivikraman will work closely with Laurent Thevenet, who recently joined the Groupe as the head of creative technology for APAC and MEA and is also based in Singapore. Thrivikraman is behind work like Vick’s ‘Touch of Care’ and the recent Olay #STEMTheGap campaigns. His work has been awarded at shows including Cannes Lions, Spikes, Adfest  and D&AD. He was named APAC Creative Person of the Year at Campaign Asia-Pacific's 2018 Agency Of the Year awards.

Lam said Thrivikraman's appointment would give Publicis' creative plans more focus. "In a day and age where the industry tends to ... be overwhelmed by all the new toys and distractions, having Ajay as the creative anchor ... partnering with Laurent ... will be unstoppable for a high potential-market like Southeast Asia," she said.

Thrivikraman said everything he knows about the business he learned from the ground up in southeast Asia. "I see this as a great opportunity to put everything I've absorbed from the rich talent, culture, and creativity all around me to work," he added.

The creative leadership for BBH Singapore under chief creative officer Sascha Kuntze remains unchanged with Kuntze continuing to work with newly appointed clobal CCO of BBH, Alex Grieve.