Thakar will be based in Shanghai and oversee planning across WorldGroup's advertising, digital, activation and healthcare disciplines.
He will also have a management role as executive vice president, reporting to TH Peng, CEO, McCann WorldGroup Greater China.
He will also have a management role as executive vice president, reporting to TH Peng, CEO, McCann WorldGroup Greater China.
The move coincides with a raft of senior management changes at the IPG agency last week, which sees Spencer Wong, the ECD of McCann Erickson Guangming in Hong Kong, play a bigger role in pitching and new business initiatives for the network's mainland China operations.