Legendary adman, mentor and investor passes away
NEWDELHI: Advertising veteran and an old Ogilvy hand, Ranjan Kapur, passed away in Mumbai on Saturday at the age of 75. Kapur was the country manager of WPP India since 2004.
“Ranjan Kapur was a very strong pillar of support to all of us at WPP and a friend, philosopher and guide to our entire industry. We will miss him dearly. He made a huge contribution to our industry with his outstanding leadership and always added a very warm personal touch to whatever he did. He was an institution by himself, keeping abreast of all the latest developments with child like enthusiasm. Every interaction with him was very enriching. This is a very big loss for all of us,” said Srinivas, who took over from Kapur in October last year.
Kapur started his career with Citibank and spent nearly 40 years with advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather in various positions across markets in India, East Asia and the US. Eventually, he was appointed executive chairman of O&M India. He moved to India from the Singapore office and turned the India operations around, building Ogilvy into a top agency in the country.
In his book Pandeymonium, Piyush Pandey, exec- utive chairman and creative director, South Asia Ogilvy & Mather India, writes: “In 1994 when Ranjan Kapur returned to India as managing director, Ogilvy & Mather was still number three or four in terms of size. Ranjan understood the potential and formed an unusual triumvirate where he was the captain and S N Rane and I were his partners. He declared, ‘We will be India’s best and biggest agency on the back of great creative work.’”
Kapur was honoured with the Industry’s Lifetime Achievement Award from Advertising Agencies Association of India in 2008. Born in Lahore, Kapur held a Master of Arts in English from St Stephen’s College, Delhi, and a degree in advanced advertising from the Advertising Agencies Association of America. He served on the board of several companies.
According to his colleagues, Kapur was a peo- ple’s person who enjoyed telling stories. “Ranjan was my finest boss. I owe a lot of what I achieved to him. He was my godfather in the advertising industry,” said Pratap Bose, chairman, The Social Street.
“We are all in a state of shock. We can’t believe it. He gave so much of his energy, time, intellect and attention to Ogilvy and then WPP. He shaped the industry in India and beyond, not only because he understood the importance of creative idea in its broadest forms but the management and the organisation needed. He understood the geographical and technological changes taking place. He was a remarkable husband, father, leader, colleague, and importantly, gentleman,” said Martin Sorrell, chief executive,
WPP Plc.
“Ranjan Kapur was an advertising legend. He was a mentor and an investor in powerful, new ideas. He was a sculptor and a playful artist. He will be remembered by so many people he touched across his life in so many different ways. What I was fortunate to experience and remember is a man who was always happy. A man who lived well. An artist who worked with joy,” said
Kunal Jeswani, chief executive, Ogilvy India.
Kapur is survived by his wife Jimi and daughter Tina.