Omnicom–IPG deal: India leaders to watch
As the global merger settles, India’s most powerful advertising bosses now face a high-stakes scramble for control — and not all of them will keep their thrones.
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The Omnicom–Interpublic Group (IPG) merger, the largest consolidation in the history of global advertising, has ignited one of the biggest leadership shakeups the Indian ad industry has ever seen. With both holding companies operating some of the country’s strongest creative and media networks, the combined entity now faces intense pressure to rationalise operations, cut overlaps, and streamline leadership.
India is expected to emerge as one of the most strategically significant markets for the merged giant, given its double-digit ad-spend growth forecast for 2026, massive consumer base, and the region’s escalating digital and retail-media battle. As global headquarters prepare to announce India’s new power structure in early December, the industry is watching closely to see who ascends and who exits in the coming reorganisation, a process insiders describe as “a once-in-a-generation reset” for the country’s agency landscape.
Prasoon Joshi
Joshi is CEO & CCO of McCann Worldgroup India and also serves as Chairman for Asia-Pacific.
Under him, McCann India has crafted some of the country’s most celebrated ad campaigns and maintained a leading creative presence — giving him huge cultural, industry and client credibility.
In the merged world, creative networks are likely to be rationalised. Industry reports suggest a reorganisation that could combine or collapse agencies, leading to uncertainty for creative heads at legacy mid-sized agencies.
Likely fate: Given his creative reputation and leadership legacy, Joshi is among the strongest candidates to lead the creative arm of the merged entity in India. Unless global leadership chooses a significantly different reorganisation, Joshi may emerge as a creative anchor, though the survival of existing agency banners under him remains uncertain.
Shashi Sinha
Long-time veteran of IPG Mediabrands India, the founding mind behind agencies such as Lodestar, and a pioneer of media-planning in India. His résumé includes engineering from IIT Kanpur and an MBA from IIM Bangalore; he also led early media-research and tools development in India.
Before the merger, he had overseen IPG’s media-agency operations in India (Lodestar, Initiative, BPN).
Before the merger completion, Sinha was elevated to Executive Chairperson for India, a stabilising, advisory role. His institutional memory and client-relationships remain valued even as the new entity reorganises.
Likely fate: With deep institutional trust and legacy-status, Sinha is positioned as a “safe pair of hands”, less a day-to-day operator, more a bridge between legacy IPG and new management, potentially guiding client relationships, government/industry ties, and integration strategy in India.
Amardeep Singh
Founder of Interactive Avenues, a digital/media-planning agency, which was acquired by IPG in 2013. Over years he grew within IPG’s media operations, acquiring expertise in digital, media buying, and modern media services. Prior to the merger’s close, he was elevated to CEO, IPG Mediabrands India, giving him operational control over IPG’s legacy media businesses in India.
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As the merged entity takes shape, Singh is reportedly in the media-leadership race against Omnicom’s own media head for India, giving him a shot at leading the combined media operations in India.
Likely fate: If the merged company prioritises a “growth-and-digital-first” media strategy in India, Singh, with his digital/media planning background, could emerge as a frontrunner for a top media-leadership post in the combined entity. His challenge will be negotiating that role in a structure with overlapping legacy and buyer-side power.
Kartik Sharma
Kartik Sharma serves as CEO, Omnicom Media Group (OMG) India, leading media operations for Omnicom’s network in India.
Given the merger, his role becomes central: as media assets from IPG (Mediabrands) fold under the new group, Sharma’s leadership and ability to integrate operations, platforms and client portfolios will be decisive.
Trade coverage suggests a contest of sorts: while IPG Mediabrands brings legacy scale under Singh/Sinha, OMG under Sharma brings recent momentum and a growing client base, the combined entity’s direction for India may hinge on whose leadership wins out.
Likely fate: Sharma is well-placed to lead consolidated media operations in India. If the merged company leans toward unifying media buying under a strong, singular umbrella, he may emerge with greater authority. The media-agency contest could settle in his favour, especially if the buyer-side legacy (Omnicom’s) is weighted higher post-merger.
Wildcard: Dheeraj Sinha
Dheeraj Sinha is CEO of FCB India, one of IPG’s major creative-agency networks. His standing has been strong in the legacy setup.
However, with the merger combining multiple creative networks: McCann, FCB, TBWA, BBDO, etc., many expect significant rationalisation, consolidation, and possible redundancy for overlapping teams.
Likely fate: Sinha’s future is uncertain, if the merged group unifies creative operations under fewer banners, he may be sidelined or repositioned. Alternatively, if the global leadership retains a multi-agency model, he might retain a role, though likely under a reorganised, possibly diminished remit.
Aditya Kanthy
CEO & MD of OAG India, overseeing DDB Mudra, BBDO India and TBWA India. Kanthy is widely expected to play a defining role in shaping the post-merger structure given his positioning as the senior-most Omnicom creative leader in India.
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However, BBDO India faces leadership limbo following the exit of Suraja Kishore, and TBWA India’s smaller scale puts it on the rationalisation radar.
Likely fate: Kanthy is expected to retain or expand authority, possibly taking charge of a consolidated creative cluster. If banners are merged, DDB Mudra may survive strongest, with BBDO and TBWA at risk of structural integration.
Subramanyeswar S. (Subbu)
Group CEO, MullenLowe Lintas. A respected creative veteran, but leading a comparatively smaller agency in a cost-synergy environment.
Likely fate: Vulnerability is expected. The network may be integrated into a larger entity or repositioned under a shared creative structure. Subbu could either move to a strategic brand/creative leadership role or exit if large-scale consolidation is aggressive.
