Publicis Groupe Middle East has appointed Kalpesh Patankar as Chief Creative Officer of Leo Constellation Gulf, bringing him back to the group to lead the creative agenda across Leo Gulf and Publicis Gulf in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Patankar shared the career update on LinkedIn, marking his return to the region after serving as Group Chief Creative Officer at VML India.
Patankar brings more than two decades of creative leadership experience across India, Singapore, the wider Asia-Pacific region and the Middle East. His career has included work involving global brands such as Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Land Rover, Colgate, Nestlé and Unilever. He has also served as a jury president at major industry platforms including Cannes Lions, D&AD, ANDY Awards and ADFEST.
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The appointment also represents a return to Publicis Groupe. During his earlier tenure as Chief Creative Officer of Leo Burnett UAE, Patankar was involved in the agency’s recognition at Dubai Lynx and the MENA Effies. He joins Leo Constellation Gulf following his leadership role at VML India, where he served as Group Chief Creative Officer.
Patankar’s new role comes as Leo Constellation brings together Leo Gulf and Publicis Gulf under a connected creative structure. Publicis Groupe launched Leo in 2025 through the combination of Publicis Worldwide and Leo Burnett, positioning the network around creativity supported by data, technology and media capabilities.
In his new position, Patankar will focus on the creative direction across the Gulf operations while working with teams and clients across the two markets. The move adds another senior leadership layer to the region’s evolving advertising and creative industry.
