Dentsu India has appointed industry veteran and former professional esports athlete Raj Thakkar as Senior Director – Sports, Gaming & Esports.
In his new role, Thakkar will spearhead business development, strategic partnerships, ecosystem monetisation and intellectual property (IP) creation. He will focus on delivering integrated solutions for brands by leveraging Dentsu’s strengths across media, creative, customer experience management (CXM) and data analytics.
Thakkar will report to Rohit Potphode and Yosuke Murai, marking a renewed professional association with Potphode.
Commenting on his appointment, Thakkar said, “We’re at a fascinating inflection point where sports, gaming, entertainment, fandom and culture are colliding like never before. The opportunity to build experiences, communities and IPs that genuinely move people and move brands has never been bigger.”
Prior to joining Dentsu India, Thakkar served as Head of Operations at the Global e-Cricket Premier League, where he played a key role in managing franchise-based esports and entertainment properties.
Earlier, he spent more than three years at JioGames, overseeing esports leagues, gaming events and sponsor integrations for leading brands including Qualcomm and MediaTek.
His professional journey also includes being a founding member at Tesseract Esports LLP, where he contributed to esports tournament execution and publisher-led gaming properties. Before transitioning into business leadership roles, Thakkar represented India as a professional esports athlete with Infamous Gaming and competed at the Vainglory World Championship in Seoul.
The appointment underscores Dentsu India’s commitment to strengthening its capabilities in the rapidly growing sports, gaming and esports ecosystem, while helping brands build deeper connections with highly engaged communities.