The most important ingredient in this business is people: Aditya Kanthy on leading Agencies through change

The global advertising industry has seen one of the biggest consolidations, and India finds itself at a critical inflection point. As Omnicom integrates IPG’s agencies into its ecosystem, reconfiguring what were once six of the country’s most influential creative agencies, the implications extend far beyond structure and scale. At stake are questions of leadership, talent stability, cultural continuity, and how agencies will operate in an increasingly complex market.

Few leaders in Indian advertising have witnessed this as closely and as patiently as Aditya Kanthy. With over two decades spent within one network, he has seen the industry’s cycles of growth, consolidation, and reinvention from the inside. Today, as President & Managing Director of Omnicom Advertising India, he is steering the organisation through one of the most significant structural shifts the industry has experienced.

In this conversation, along with outlining how Omnicom is approaching integration in India, Aditya speaks candidly about navigating change, ensuring continuity, and why people and not process remain at the heart of building a successful agency. 

Edited Excerpts:

Mrinil Mathur Rajwani:
Aditya, what does a typical day look like for you at Omnicom Advertising India right now? How busy are you?

Aditya Kanthy:
It’s definitely a busy time, but a good busy. This is an exceptional moment for the industry and for us, given the scale of what we’re trying to build in India.

India is one of the markets where the IPG agencies are strong, successful businesses. That means much of our focus right now is on building on that foundation, putting new structures in place while striking the right balance between continuity and change. The goal is to ensure this transition is respected and appreciated by both clients and talent.

We’re deeply focused on clarity around structures, roles, and where people belong in the new organisation. When people feel at ease and confident, that confidence naturally carries through to clients, especially when they’re continuing to work with senior leaders they know, trust, and respect.

So right now, the obsession is simple: get clarity right, get continuity right, and build confidence, for our people first, and then it will automatically result in clarity for our clients.

MMR:
We last met at AgencyCon, where you spoke about playing “the long game” in agencies. You’ve spent over two decades inside one network. What’s one truth about agency life that only people who stay long enough truly understand, especially after years of mergers and acquisitions?

AK:
If I had to pick one thing, it would be this: good things take time.

There’s a lot of excitement around acquisitions like this, around fundamental changes in how agencies and clients will work together. And how those changes will happen. But they happen one day at a time, one quarter at a time, one year at a time.

What we must never lose sight of are the basics. At the end of the day, the most important ingredient in this business is people: the talent and the work they do for clients. During moments like this, we need to keep reminding ourselves of this constantly.

MMR:
Do you still feel like an “agency person” at heart, or has leadership changed how you see the business?

AK:
Very much an agency person. I love the agency business; it’s what keeps me going.

No matter what role I’m in, my greatest joy comes from being around incredibly talented people doing great work. My job, whether earlier or now, is to help create that environment and make it possible for as many people as I can to thrive within it.

Even in my current role, the responsibility is the same: build successful agencies, create cultures that attract great talent, and keep bringing the best people into these organisations. That hasn’t changed.

MMR:
At this point in your career, how do you personally measure success?

AK:
Right now, I measure success through continuity and clarity.

In any acquisition, there’s noise, and with noise comes anxiety. Every person in the system is asking the same questions: What happens to me? What happens to my team? My clients? My leaders?

Our focus has been to answer those questions as clearly and as quickly as possible. Which team am I in? Who do I work with? Where do I sit? Who do I report to? 

The principle has been simple: don’t disturb what’s working. Teams that clients value, teams that enjoy working together, have largely stayed intact. We want to build on what works without disrupting it unnecessarily.

Right now, success looks like people knowing where they belong in the system and feeling confident about what comes next.

MMR:
When leaders face integrations of this scale, what’s the first question they should be asking, but often don’t? And what was your first question?

AK:
There’s really only one question: What do we need to do to set ourselves up to win?

Everything else, individuals, brands, rules, follows from that.

There’s a market. There are clients. And those clients need agency partners who help them succeed. So we start by looking at strengths: what IPG brings and what Omnicom brings. We look at client needs, where they want continuity, where they want change. We look at what kind of agency portfolio will attract great talent.

If you’re clear about those fundamentals, the strategy and structure become much simpler. You’re making decisions for the right reason, which, in this case, is building a successful company.

MMR:
What kind of leader is required to build a successful company? What kind of leader does this moment demand you to be, compared to earlier phases of your career? 

AK:
In a modern creative company, leadership requires a deep learning and listening orientation.

We have to be open to change and recognise that we’re operating in a world where adaptability is essential. Our job, regardless of seniority, is to be in service of the work and in service of the talent doing that work.

No one person has all the answers. No one agency does. Success comes from teamwork within our system and beyond it. The ability to come together, collaborate, and hold hands when needed is what will allow us to succeed in this new configuration.

MMR:
This is also a time when clients feel unsettled. What did you and Omnicom Advertising do to put them at ease?

AK:
The first thing we ensured was continuity of relationships. Clients trust people. And when the people they trust remain part of the structure, it creates comfort.

You see that in our leadership choices and in our agency brands. In India, we’re operating TBWA with the Lintas brand. There’s ULKA, Mudra, 22Feet, Kinnect, all signals that we’re doing what’s right for clients.

We were also very honest. We told clients that there would be a change. Some agencies will merge. Some names may change. But the teams they trust will largely remain, often in stronger contexts with better support.

At this stage, clients want reassurance and comfort. Once continuity and comfort are established, they’ll start seeing the real benefits of scale, investment, and collaboration, and that’s where the value shows up.

MMR:
From a leadership standpoint, what’s harder: aligning people, aligning clients, or aligning ambition?

AK:
Ambition is actually the easiest. We’re very clear about it; we want to be the best at our work. 

The hardest part is talent and culture. If you get that right, the client piece follows. A phone call to a client means nothing if the system behind it isn’t solid.

So the priority is to ensure people are settled into their new ecosystems, under clear leadership, with as much continuity as possible. If you do that well, client outcomes will follow.

MMR:
What’s the hardest part of your role that nobody really prepared you for?

AK:
There are different things about this journey that are challenging.  The start of it is a strategic question, of saying, what is the right mix of agencies? What is the right type of leadership that we need at these agencies to be able to offer clients a portfolio of agencies?

Strategy and structure are intellectual challenges. But people bring their histories, ambitions, fears, and passions into every conversation. That’s the joy of this business, and also its greatest complexity.

Omnicom spent nearly a year thinking deeply about how to approach this integration. In India, we also had the advantage of earlier experience bringing TBWA, BBDO and DDB Mudra together under Omnicom Advertising.

The real challenge, though, is execution, applying all that thinking in a meaningful way. And every day brings surprises. That’s the charm of a people business. All the fun and difficulty come from that uncertainty.

MMR:
Despite all the changes, what still excites you about advertising?

AK:
It’s the people and the work. Always.

Seeing a piece of work that moves someone, that makes them laugh, cry, think differently, that’s what keeps me going. That connection is at the heart of what we do.

Anyone who stays in this business for a meaningful length of time stays because of that feeling, of creating something meaningful with other people.

MMR:
If a young strategist joined Omnicom Advertising India today, what mindset should they bring and what should they leave behind?

AK:
They need to go deeper into their clients’ businesses.

I think we risk becoming distant from it because of the way in which we've set up our relationships with so many different specialists everywhere. Strategists must see the full picture and demand access to it. Understand the business, understand the consumer, understand the context. It sounds basic, but I don’t think we do it deeply enough today.

That depth is what will set great strategists apart.

MMR:
Years from now, when people look back at this phase of consolidation in Indian advertising, what do you think it will be remembered for, and what role do you hope Omnicom Advertising India played in shaping that chapter?

AK:
That we seized a unique moment in history.

India is in an incredibly vibrant phase: economically, culturally, and creatively. We have had a three-to-five-year window to shape the future of this business. I hope we’re remembered for recognising that opportunity and making the most of it.