Wunderman Thompson India beefs up Mumbai leadership team with new senior hires

India – Creative agency Wunderman Thompson India has appointed two new senior hires for its Mumbai office, as the agency embarks on an accelerated growth path of creative transformation with a continued focus on driving relevance and scale, inspiring growth for its clients. 

The new hires are Rakesh Varma, the new vice president and executive business director at Wunderman Thompson Mumbai, and Abhay Godbole, the new vice president and client servicing director at Wunderman Thompson Mumbai.

Varma has over 15 years of advertising experience, having worked across a diverse range of brands with a special liking for the automobile and the auto ancillary category with brands like Volkswagen, TVS Motorcycles, Ashok Leyland, and Gulf Oil. He has been associated with leading brands like Hotstar, Radio City, FBB, Gelusil, and Tata AIA, amongst others. Varma has also an in-depth understanding and experience in brand strategy, campaign planning, and leading integrated marketing efforts. 

Meanwhile, returning to Wunderman Thompson is Godbole, who was instrumental in leading the much-lauded ‘Mutual Funds Sahi Hai’ for AMFI during his previous stint at the agency. He has close to two decades of experience in marketing communications working across categories like FMCG, automobile, and BFSI. Passionate about advertising and creativity, Godbole believes any marketing challenge can be addressed through compelling creative solutions. 

Commenting on his new role, Varma said, “At Wunderman Thompson, we’re building a future that’s as exciting as its legacy. And I’m really fortunate to be a part of this transformation. With its diverse brand portfolio, integrated service approach and promising growth vision, WT is all set to thrive. Looking forward to nurturing some of the long-standing client relationships and creating new ones.” 

Meanwhile, Godbole also commented, “I am delighted to be back at Wunderman Thompson, one of India’s finest agencies that has nurtured and built multiple brands in the country. Wunderman Thompson is in a unique position of creating the agency of the future, an agency that is capable of delivering the best of both mainline and data-led digital communications. I look forward to being a part of this exciting and transformational journey.”

Anurag Tandon, managing partner at Wunderman Thompson Mumbai, noted that as they continue to diversify their client roster and grow their talent base, it was critical for them to have the right hands on deck. 

“Rakesh and Abhay bring with them extensive experience and domain knowledge that will propel us to drive growth in key industry domains and deliver the best outcomes for our clients. Both our senior hires have an impressive track record of building strong consumer brands and I am looking forward to scaling new heights with our client partners,” said Tandon.