Mumbai: Havas India chairman and chief creative officer Bobby Pawar has decided to step down from his role. He joined the network in November 2018. A much-revered advertising legend, Pawar has been a part of the advertising industry for over three decades. Following this, Pawar has decided to move away from advertising. He will, however, be a part of Havas India officially till September and will continue to consult on Havas’ clients and projects as and when necessary.
“There are some who will think there is some hanky-panky to my stepping away. I understand the appeal of it. It certainly makes for more interesting gossip sessions. The truth is, sometimes life leads you to a crossroad. Or, in my case, it is death. Over the last year, I lost way too many people I love, way too early. All of them had their ‘one day I will do this or that’. This made me realise that I had to find what I would love to do that ‘one day’ and do it right now. Yeah, it is hard to walk away from what I have loved for thirty-one years. But I have always chosen to do the hard thing. Like, take on the challenges of changing the course of the agencies I have helmed. Now it’s time to do that with my own life. What is certain though, is that writing will be a huge part of whatever I dive into next. I am nothing if not a storyteller, a craftsman who chisels prose with a pen,” said Pawar.
Looking back at his time at Havas India, Pawar said, “The concept of Havas Village is what excited me the most. Moreover, both Rana and I were entrusted with the freedom to build and run Havas India from ground up, like entrepreneurs. Something I had not experienced before. It takes two to tango, and with a friend like Rana, who really is more of family than a friend, it was easy. And today, I can proudly say that we have built a brand-led, digital-first ecosystem, the results of which are here for all to see. Havas India has undergone an unprecedented transformation and has seen exponential growth over the last 5 years. We have made our place in the big league, and we are here to stay. I am grateful to Yannick Bollore for his faith in us, to our teams across all the companies of Havas India for giving their all to the mission, and Rana, you know how I feel about you.”
Speaking on Pawar’s departure, Havas India Group CEO Rana Barua said, “Ours is truly a Yin and Yang partnership. Especially when you know your creative half for nearly three decades, it becomes a seamless, productive, and truly memorable journey. Bobby helped me rebuild Havas’ presence in India, and with his creative prowess and reputation, he completely overhauled the Creative vertical of the network. With his trademark humor and quirks, Bobby made Havas India more than just a place to work. Some goodbyes are bittersweet because while I will not see him around at work, he will continue to be an inextricable part of my life. I wish him all the very best for this new chapter of his life.”
Barua further elaborates the structure of Havas Creative & Health Network India with immediate effect following Pawar’s exit. Havas Worldwide will be in the hands of Anupama (Anu) Ramaswamy who joined Havas Worldwide India as chief creative officer last year. Along with CEO Tarun Jha and chief strategy officer Anirban Mozumdar, they will oversee all the three Havas Worldwide India offices and client relationships.
“The other agencies in the Creative & Health network and their respective creative leads, namely - Havas Life Sorento (chief creative officer Sachin Talwalkar), Havas CX India (executive creative director Ashu Mhatre,), Havas People (managing director Arindam Sengupta), Conran Design Mumbai (Head of Design Mayuri Nikumbh), Shobiz (chief creative officer Subir Majumdar), Think Design (design director Arun Chauhan) along with their CEOs – will continue to work closely across the Village (and Havas Media Network India) and report into me”, said Barua.
In his own words, Pawar is allergic to math, but his numbers aren’t half bad. He is a two-time copywriter of the year, with over 400 local and international metals. He was IAA India’s Creative Agency Leader of the Year (2021), and Campaign Asia’s Creative Person of the Year (2011) for India and South Asia. Before his tenure at Havas India, Pawar spent five and a half years at Publicis, where he created some of the country’s most talked-about and effective campaigns. In his earlier role as the chief creative officer of JWT, he made a marked difference in the agency’s creative product. Pawar also spent four and a half years as the CCO of DDB Mudra Group where he raised the creative bar across many disciplines; digital, experiential and media. As a result, he transformed the group into one of the hottest agencies in the country. Moreover, Pawar was in the United States for seven years where he worked with Ogilvy, New York and BBDO, Chicago. One of his films ran on the Superbowl, got featured in the MoMA and nominated for an Emmy.
