Dentsu Creative Isobar has announced the appointment of Sushant Barua (Manik) as national creative director - art. 

Barua will be responsible for leading the art and visual design function across the agency’s diverse client portfolio. He will be instrumental in redefining the agency’s design language, enhancing visual craft, and pushing the boundaries of next-gen creativity across the entire customer journey. Barua will also mentor the agency’s growing pool of design talent, helping shape the next generation of creative leaders.

In his new role, Barua will report to Sahil Shah, president, Dentsu Creative Isobar. He will also work closely with Abhijat Bharadwaj, chief creative officer, and the wider leadership team. 

Shah said, “We needed to fix this jigsaw puzzle of what all contributes to building a new age creative agency. Sushant, as the leader of art, has been a great choice. What amazes me is the simplicity with which he handles both clients and talent across the agency. Of course, he comes with a solid pedigree of work across various platforms and mediums, with numerous global and Indian awards in his kitty. But what I’m looking forward to the most is how we will steer the agency to create exceptional work for clients and nurture our top-performing talent while doing so.”

Bharadwaj added, “Sushant Barua is without doubt one of the finest design minds in the industry, and we are incredibly excited to have him on board. He has been the missing link in our creative ecosystem, a leader who brings world-class design thinking and inspires teams to push the boundaries. With Sushant joining us, we are all set to create some truly breakthrough work and elevate Dentsu Creative Isobar to the next level.”

Barua said, “What excites me most about this role is the opportunity to work with a young, talented team that’s hungry to create standout work. The energy at Dentsu Creative Isobar is infectious, and I hope to lead by example - pushing for strong visualisation, bold design thinking, and helping raise the creative bar across the agency.”

In a career spanning over 17 years, he has also worked with McCann Worldgroup, Ogilvy and Contract Advertising, among others.