Mr. Arvind Sharma
BACKGROUND
Arvind Sharma is a holder of PGDM from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad- 1977 batch. He served as head of Leo Burnett, South Asia
for well over two decades and then additionally as Chairman of all Publicis Groupe media, digital and specialist agencies . In his last corporate role,
Arvind was a member of the Global Leadership Council of Leo Burnett Worldwide. In 2015, Arvind turned an independent director and a tech & internet entrepreneur.
After leaving IIMA, Arvind spent his first few years in marketing before switching to advertising. For well over three decades Arvind has been closely
associated with famous multinational and Indian brands in India and internationally. His clients included multinational clients like Procter & Gamble,
Heinz, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, General Mills, Samsung, SAB Miller and large local Indian groups like Bajaj, Godrej, HDFC, Reliance, Tatas & Wipro. Arvind
has also been the copywriter behind a number of famous campaigns in India including, 'Ye kyahaalbanaarakhahaikuchletekyonnahin' for Coldarin and the ‘Aam admi’
campaign that brought the Congress-led UPA government to power.
Under Arvind’s leadership, Leo Burnett Mumbai achieved the distinction of joining the list of creatively 20 most awarded agencies in the world. Between 2000 & 2010,
Leo Burnett Mumbai was awarded the Global Agency of the Year in the Leo Burnett network thrice.
Arvind Sharma is an ex-President of the Advertising Agencies Association of India, ex-Chairman of Advertising Standards Council of India, ex-Chairman of Media
Research Users’ Council of India and founding Director of the Broadcast Audience Research Council of India. Arvind was the founding Chairman of Goafest.
He is a member of the Board of Governors of Education Support Organization- an NGO focused on innovation in education at the primary & secondary school levels
in India. Arvind is also an Independent Director on the Board of listed public companies.
In 2021, Arvind was honoured with a life-time achievement award by the Advertising Agencies Association of India becoming the 29th recipient of this honour since 1945.
Arvind has been a guest faculty member at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad since 2002 and IIT Bombay since 2016. Arvind has also has been teaching
from time to time at Mica, IMT, ISB, NMIS and Symbiosis. He has been invited to speak at Harvard Business School, Wharton and Columbia.