MUMBAI: Leo Burnett chief strategy officer Singapore and Malaysia Saurabh Varma has been elevated to the post of regional chief strategy officer for the APAC region. He will report directly to Leo Burnett Asia-Pacific president Jarek Ziebinski.

In his role as regional chief strategic officer, Varma will oversee all heads of strategy and planning directors across all Leo Burnett Group offices in the region. He will be responsible for ensuring that strategists of all planning disciplines across Asia-Pacific are properly trained and well-equipped.

He will also head a regional effectiveness council which will comprise key effectiveness leaders overseeing sub-regions of Southeast Asia, North Asia, India and Subcontinent and Australia which Leo Burnett will be launching in the near future. Varma will continue as a member of the Leo Burnett Worldwide HumanKind Standards Board and represent Leo Burnett Asia-Pacific on the Leo Burnett Worldwide Global Planning Board.

Varma joined Leo Burnett in 2007 and has more than 14 years of aggregate experience in the industry having worked across multiple categories including retail, FMCG, banking and finance and consumer durables. During this time he has worked on brands such as Indian Oil, Lakme, Vicks, Nivea, Fosters, Philips, HP, Blackberry, Samsung, Friesland Campina Asia-Pacific (Dutch Lady/Foremost/Frisian Flag), MCYS and United Overseas Bank.