Publicis Ceo Puts In Papers

Praveen Kenneth S J, chief executive officer of the Rs 100 crore advertising agency, Publicis India, has put in his papers. Confirming the development, Kenneth said: "It is true that I am resigning from Publicis India. I was hired by Publicis in India for a reason and now I am done with it. My job was to establish Publicis as a brand in India and I am happy to state that I succeeded in accomplishing the objective."

Thirty one-year-old Kenneth, better known in the industry as the youngest ever CEO in the entire Publicis Network, took charge as Publicis India's CEO in May 1999.

 

Though Kenneth's term ends on April 15, he will continue as advisor to the agency for some more time. Kenneth, however, refused to divulge his future plans. He said: "I have not taken a call on what my next step would be after I am done with my advisory role with the agency."

Industry sources said Kenneth would either be looking after the larger interest of the Publicis Group in India or will get into the international network. Alternatively, he may move out of the group itself. Publicis Group is the holding company of Publicis India.

The move comes close on the heels of French advertising agency Publicis' acquisition of Bcom3 - the group which also owns advertising agencies Leo Burnett and D'Arcy MB&B internationally.

Some of the clients that come under the fold of Publicis India, include Nestle India (Pure Life), Star TV Network (Star Gold), Coca-Cola India (Schweppes soda), Hewlett Packard and Mayfair (Zodiac shirts).

Kenneth started his career at Ogilvy & Mather, Bangalore, more than a decade back. He has also worked with other well-known advertising agencies such as McCann-Erickson and Mudra Communications, before joining Publicis.