Ayan Banik joins Wunderman Thompson Kolkata as Senior VP Strategy from Grey Delhi

Wunderman Thompson Kolkata has appointed Ayan Banik as Senior VP Brand Strategy. Banik joins from Grey Delhi and will report to Pinaki Bhattacharya, Chief Strategy Officer, Wunderman Thompson India.

At Grey, Banik was not only heading planning for key Delhi Clients like the GSK Portfolio, Volvo MMTC-PAMP and Baidyanath, but was also heading the planning functions of key Bangalore and Mumbai accounts like the Britannia non-biscuit portfolio, Aditya Birla Group brands, Weilfield range of ready to cook and ready to eat range of products etc. With 20 years of work experience, across some of the biggest and most respected agencies in the country like Ogilvy & Mather, JWT, Cheil India, Saatchi & Saatchi, Bates 141 and Grey Worldwide, Banik has worked on an enviable repertoire of brands across diverse categories that include names like Samsung, MMTC-PAMP, KFC, Eno, Pernod Ricard, Apollo Munich, Birla White, Volvo, Honda, in-shorts, Zee News, Mother Dairy, Britannia.

Banik was part of the core team that won the first ever Cannes Glass Lion for both Cheil and Samsung India. Banik had also played an integral role in winning the prestigious WPP Partnership in Practice Award for Ogilvy India.

An active contributor to publications like The Gunn Report, Campaign India, HT Mint, Business Standard and The Times of India, Banik is also a guest lecturer by love, an avid reader by habit, a hopeless movie buff by choice, a cultural observer by intrigue and a biker by addiction.

Banik said: “It’s an absolute honour and a privilege to work with industry stalwarts like Pinaki Bhattacharya and Vijay Jacob Parakkal. Pinaki is one of the most respected names in the industry and Vijay has been brilliantly spear-heading Wunderman Thompson Kolkata, both in terms of business as well as awards. Kolkata is one of the fastest transforming cities. With consumerism about to explode, it’s a really exciting time to be in Kolkata and create newer milestones in the advertising and marketing landscape.”

Vijay Jacob Parakkal, Senior VP & Managing Partner, Wunderman Thompson, Kolkata, said: “The WT Kolkata team has been on a roll with some very memorable award-winning work in the last few years. Our work from the Kolkata office won at the Effies, Spikes, D&AD, One Show, Kyoorius etc. Ayan’s rich Planning experience and infectious energy will really add more muscle to the team. I am really looking forward to partnering with Ayan and Arjun and doing some great work for our clients.”

Bhattacharya said: “Ayan is an exciting addition to the strategy team at Wunderman Thompson India. He comes with rich experience across categories and brands and is adept at solving brand problems. What makes it even more exciting for us is that he will be based out of our Kolkata office- an office that handles some of our most cherished brands and has great momentum going for it. I am looking forward to a very fruitful and impactful partnership with Ayan.”