Publicis Sapient appoints product and engineering lead for Australia

Publicis Sapient has named Harshu Deshpande to the newly created role of VP, product and engineering lead for Australia.

Based in Melbourne, he will lead multi-disciplinary teams delivering large-scale and agile transformation programs, leveraging Publicis Sapient's AI platforms, such as Sapient Slingshot and Bodhi.

Deshpande’s appointment builds on the recent addition of Gavin Seewooruttun as VP, data and AI lead for Australia.

Most recently, he served as field CTO and advisor for Digital Natives at Google.

Prior to Google, Deshpande served as MD for Slalom Build in APAC where he launched and scaled a team of more than 150 engineers, designers and product owners across Australia and Japan.

Publicis Sapient’s country MD for Australia Angela Robinson said Deshpande's deep expertise and innovative mindset align perfectly with the company's commitment to delivering cutting-edge solutions for clients

“At a time when businesses are actively seeking fresh perspectives and transformative partnerships, Harshu's appointment underscores our continued ability to attract top talent, enabling us to better serve our clients as they navigate this exciting and rapidly evolving AI-powered world," she said.

“AI is fundamentally reshaping engineering and the value clients are looking for, and with our proprietary AI platforms and SPEED capabilities, we are uniquely positioned to accelerate legacy modernisation, scale AI implementations and deliver end-to-end business transformation," said Deshpande.

"I look forward to unlocking significant value and driving innovation alongside this talented team.”