Praveen Kenneth to retire from Law & Kenneth Saatchi & Saatchi

MUMBAI: Co-owner Praveen Kenneth will be retiring from his post as chairman of advertising agency Law & Kenneth Saatchi & Saatchi. His retirement marks the sale of his stake in the agency to Publicis Groupe.

While Kenneth, also the MD, declined to comment on numbers, industry sources peg the earn-out at Rs 380 crore. One of the last big earn-outs in Indian advertising was when Sandeep Goyal sold his stake in Dentsu in 2011 for a reported Rs 250 crore. Law & Kenneth was started by Praveen Kenneth in collaboration with British ad man Andy Law in 2004.

It went on to become one of India’s largest independent agencies, with a reputation as an aggressive competitor in business pitches. Publicis Groupe acquired a majority stake in the agency in 2014, merging it with the then struggling Saatchi & Saatchi.

Subsequently, L&K Saatchi & Saatchi continued to grow and even bolstered its creative reputation, winning gold at Cannes Lions earlier this year.

Maurice Levy, chairman of the supervisory board at Publicis Groupe says, “The acquisition of Praveen Kenneth’s agency and the merger with Saatchi and Saatchi has allowed the building of a superb agency we are all proud of.

Praveen is a leader, a real ad man, always led by the interest of the clients. I developed a great personal relationship with him and wish him the very best.” Discussing his departure and the reason he opted to move out of Publicis system, Kenneth says, “I began as an entrepreneur and will always be one.

I like my sense of freedom.” He will stay on for the next six months during the transition period. Anil Nair, chief executive officer and managing partner, has been groomed over the last 24 months and will lead the agency.