MUMBAI: Publicis India has announced the appointment of Russell John as vice president for strategy. John will be based out of Mumbai and will play a key role in shaping ideas and insights and nurturing growth for a number of brands for the agency. He will report to Sudeep Gohil, CSO and managing partner at Publicis India.

Russell joins Publicis India from Lowe Lintas where he was an associate vice president. He was one of the planners on the global team for Lifebuoy across the markets of South Asia, South East Asia, North Africa and the Middle East. Apart from that, he also managed the regional planning mandate for a host of brands including Pepsodent, Housing.com, Paranjpe Realty, Tata Tea, Britannia, Sonata Watches, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, Bajaj Bikes, UTI Mutual Funds, Karvy Finance, BPCL among others.

Sudeep Gohil mentions, “From our initial meetings, I was excited about Russell joining us and working with our clients. He has a rare blend of characteristics, which make him a great person for the growing team. Humility, curiosity, passion, intelligence and a magnetic personality. I’m very enthusiastic to see his ideas come to bear on the work we are doing in the agency.”

Expressing his views on joining the agency, John adds, “In Sudeep Gohil, Srija Chatterjee and Paritosh Srivastava I found leaders who I wanted to associate with. It seemed like a buzzing and encouraging environment, which would give me an opportunity to add value to both the group as well as a varied set of brands. I am looking forward to lots of exciting associations and doing some great work for Publicis India.

Apart from Lowe Lintas, Russell has also worked for Leo Burnett and Brand David Communications where he handled diverse set of brands. Many of his projects have gone on to win multiple awards across international award shows. Particularly noteworthy is his contribution for Lifebuoy that ended up winning Effectiveness awards across the India Effie, APAC Effie and Global Effie award platforms.