Senthil Kumar

Based in Bangalore

Currently the Chief Creative Officer at VML, Senthil Kumar is India's most awarded writer, creative director and storyteller.

Senthil started his career in 1995, as a writer at Akshar Advertising. He then moved to Grey Group, where he grew from Senior Writer at Trikaya Grey Bangalore to Creative Chief at Trikaya Grey Colombo; also being a part of the team that set up the Grey Sri Lanka Office from 1997 to 2000. Later, he moved to Unilever as the Global Creative Director of Team Radiant, before starting his 25-year-long stint at JWT India, and another nine years as the Chief Creative Officer at Wunderman Thompson South Asia.

During his time at JWT, Senthil served many executive roles sch as Vice President, Executive Creative Director, Creative Chief, and Chairman.

Today, Senthil stands at the forefront of creative excellence at VML, the world’s largest creative company, where he drives the business of ideas and inspires growth for leading global and national brands. Collaborating with multilingual creative and digital teams across India, he has shaped iconic campaigns for homegrown brands like Tata Gluco Plus, The Times of India, Tata Steel, Hero Motors, Apollo Tyres, Aditya Birla Fashion, Murugappa Group, Nestlé Munch, Star Sports, Wipro, and Himalayan, as well as international brands including Nike, Levi’s, Puma, Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, KitKat, Johnnie Walker, Google, Facebook, Rotary International, Shell, Unilever Radiant, and UNICEF.

Nicknamed the “Lion Hunter” by The Economic Times for clinching India’s first Gold Lions in Film and Film Craft at Cannes (2009), Senthil has rewritten Indian advertising history with a tally of 27 Cannes Lions, 24 D&AD Pencils, and multiple One Show Gold Pencils, among hundreds of international honours. With over 300 global awards, he is India’s most awarded writer, and creative director, steering VML to repeated “Agency of the Year” and “Campaign of the Year” wins.

Beyond advertising, Senthil has written and directed celebrated commercials and films such as the National Award-winning 'A Salaam to Kalam', the UN-backed documentary 'Save Our Sentinels', Nike 'Bleed Blue' and 'Make Every Yard Count' (both enshrined in Nike’s Global Hall of Fame), and the interactive short 'Blink and They’re Gone'. His creative journey also includes large-scale cultural projects like the 'Gandhi Yatra' projection film and the documentary 'Birds of Paradise'.

A true pioneer, Senthil has been, many a time, recognised as “Copywriter of the Year” and “Film Director of the Year” at national and Asia-Pacific festivals.

While his work is deeply rooted in Indian culture, his global campaigns—particularly as Creative Director for Unilever Radiant across 18 countries—have influenced markets in Africa, Asia-Pacific, and South America. He continues to expand his creative horizon, moving seamlessly from advertising and branded content to his debut feature film, an epic war drama bound for a Hollywood release.

Social Media Handles:

- LinkedIn - Senthil Kumar

- Instagram - @chiefgrammar

Work: youtube.com/senthilspace