Sachin Ambekar joins Leo Burnett Sri Lanka as CCO

Sachin Ambekar recently joined Leo Burnett Solutions Inc. as Chief Creative Officer to lead the agency’s creative team and to drive its product to new standards. Sachin joins Leo Burnett in Sri Lanka from Y&R Jakarta where until l recently he was their Executive Creative Director.

Commencing his career in Mumbai, a few years and several awards later, Ambekar moved to Singapore and since then, has worked with some of the top agencies in Asia Pacific.

He has successfully handled multi-million dollar projects on brands like LG Electronics, Danon, Kalbe Nutritionals, Maxis HotLink, McDonald’s, Michelin, Tiger Beer and Fevicol just to name a few. He’s as proud of the projects he has done on a shoestring budget for Sequislife, Mera Cat Food, FNPF, etc. This might also explain why he was one of the region’s top Creative Directors.

His work has regularly been featured in the Lurzer’s Archive, Shots, CA Annual, Campaign Screen, Campaign Brief Asia and ADOI and has made its way to a 7+ ranking three times in the Leo Burnett network’s Global Product Committee.

He has also been Course Coordinator for the Australian AWARD School in Singapore and has served as a member of the Grand Jury at The New York Festival 2010.

Under Sachin’s leadership, Y&R Jakarta won Indonesia’s first ever Gold Lion at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Under his creative leadership Y&R Jakarta won more than 23 international awards in 2010 and 2011 making it Campaign Brief Asia’s No1. ranked creative agency in Indonesia. He also helped the agency grow from three accounts to nine and 42 people to 78 in 18 months.

Sachin says: “It is much more challenging and exciting to go to a place that has so much potential. I am thoroughly excited with this new opportunity. I am proud to be a part of the LB network again after 10 years. Leo Burnett Sri Lanka has some great people and a great client roster. Their recent win at Spikes Asia certainly has given the agency more confidence. I hope to do even better than before with Leo Burnett in Sri Lanka. Ranil De Silva is a mentor of Sri Lankan advertising. I am looking forward to teaming up with him to drive the standards of the marketing communications industry in Sri Lanka.”

National Creative Director of Leo Burnett India, K.V. Sridhar (Pops) said: “Sachin is a great addition to our Leo Burnett Asia team. Apart from being a great creative guy, he is also an awesome leader with a great ability to build creative teams and reputation of an agency, I am personally very excited to have him in the family.”

Mark Tutsell, Chief Creative Officer of Leo Burnett Worldwide, stated: “I am extremely impressed by Sachin’s work and the success he achieved in Indonesia. I am confident that he will add great value and purpose to our office in Colombo which is making its impact in the region. Sachin will most definitely contribute towards our efforts of impacting people and their behaviour as we strongly believe that creativity has the power to transform human behaviour.”

Ranil De Silva, Managing Director, Leo Burnett Solutions Inc., said: “Sachin has a great track record and has achieved excellent results in every market he has worked. I am very confident that he will make an invaluable contribution to our endeavour here in Sri Lanka. My team and I are looking forward to working with Sachin to make a meaningful difference to the clients and brands which we manage and nurture.” Leo Burnett Solutions Inc., is the local office of the global agency giant Leo Burnett Worldwide, and was established in Sri Lanka in June 1999. The agency has been a leader in the industry from its inception. Leo Burnett Colombo has gained international recognition for their work and has been Sri Lanka’s first agency to win metal at an international festival.

Leo Burnett Sri Lanka has on its team75 of the country’s best professionals and has established strong and rewarding partnerships with a wide range of clients comprising leading multinational and local brands This 12 year old agency changed the paradigm of integrated communications in the country and has made a strong impact in the local marketing communications industry.