AD Agencies
Weekend Unwind with: Nu Republic’s Ujjwal Sarin
Mumbai: With the first weekend of January 2024 upon us, it is time to unwind with the latest Q&A edition of Indiantelevision.com’s Weekend Unwind—a series of informal chats that peek into the minds of business executives through a fun lens in an attempt to get to know the person behind the title a little better.
In this week’s session, we have Nu Republic’s founder Ujjwal Sarin.
Sarin is a distinguished business leader with a career spanning over 17 years, in managing diverse customer-facing businesses in India. His expertise lies in the strategic management of customer-centric enterprises, product development, global sourcing, sales, branding, and advertising.
In 2018, Ujjwal founded Nu Republic, an innovative Indian lifestyle brand merging music, fashion, and technology. Renowned for its advanced wireless audio devices like earbuds and speakers, Nu Republic targets forward-thinkers who value both function and style. Under Ujjwal’s leadership, the brand elevates “wear-tech” beyond mere gadgets, gaining global recognition and becoming a favorite among trendsetting individuals.
So, without further ado, here it goes…
Your mantra for life
Art of simplicity is a puzzle of complexity, a quote by Douglas Horton. It actually takes a huge amount of deep thinking, thoughtful process and curation of ideas to make something which looks so simple for the eyes. And so is with life. Keeping things simple is not that simple. It takes lots of complex reflection on a daily basis to simplify life in the long run. And maybe therein lies its beauty.
A book you are currently reading or plan to read
Is this anything – Jerry Sienfeld
Your fitness mantra, especially during the pandemic
I believe a fit body leads to a fit mind. Walking / Running with my favorite tracks blaring on my Nu Republic® earbuds is my go to fitness mantra.
Your comfort food
Irrespective of the state of my hunger, or time of the day, a cheeseburger gets me going.
A quote or philosophy that keeps you going when the chips are down
I keep myself in the present as much as possible through this simple quote by Epictetus “We suffer more in imagination than in reality”. Overthinking, anxiety and unnecessary worries are the result of exaggerated imaginations. We often want to predict what the consequences of our actions will be. We can sometimes overthink possibilities within our future and devise scenarios in the hope they will allow us to cope with whatever life will throw at us.
We lose track of the present, and we embellish the future with our fears and insecurities. Oftentimes, our greatest inner turmoil is not an ailment of actuality, but an unconscious manifestation of our perceived shortcomings.
Your guilty pleasure
Ice cream
The last time you tried something new
Doing the “Nu” is part of my life. By choosing a life of an entrepreneur, I have signed up to a life of adventure. I am living by the philosophy immortalized by Pink Floyd “all you touch and all you see all your life will ever be”.
A life lesson you learned the hard way
Shortcut to success is a long road to nowhere.
For example, there are classic examples of businesses going down completely because of a shortcut they used to cash in on success. I want to ensure that I choose a path of fulfillment when I visualise success. Overnight success fizzles out in a day. Hard-earned success leaves behind a legacy.
What gets you excited about life?
Travel and Music
What’s on top of your bucket list?
Making Nu Republic the coolest brand ever is my goal and at the top of my bucket list.
If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self, what would it be?
Direction is more important than speed. Some people are going fast nowhere.
There is a difference between being simply busy and busy in the right direction. Without a sense of direction, you may be constantly busy but ultimately achieve very little. On the other hand, if you prioritize direction over speed, understand that taking the time to plan and set goals can lead to more meaningful and fulfilling outcomes in the long run.
One thing you would most like to change about the world
I want to create products in Nu Republic which change the way consumers look at this category. Taking products from mere fashion serving devices to powerful modes of fashion and self expression is my ultimate goal and this change can be felt already.
An activity that keeps you motivated and charged during tough times
Music is my go to solution to every problem. It has the power to transport me to a different world, where I can find solace and escape from reality. Whether I’m feeling sad, stressed, or overwhelmed, music has a way of soothing my soul and bringing me inner peace.
What lifts your spirits when life gets you down?
As music has the ability to evoke a wide range of emotions. Different genres and melodies can make people feel happy, sad, excited, or relaxed. It often serves as a powerful tool for expressing and processing emotions.
AD Agencies
Publicis Brazil’s creative chief Mauro Ramalho lands the jury chair at Abby Awards 2026
Mauro Ramalho brings 25 years of global advertising firepower to the new creative commerce, use of data and B2B category at Goafest
GOA: The Abby Awards 2026, powered by The One Club and The One Show, has appointed Mauro Ramalho, chief creative officer of Publicis Brazil, as jury chair for its newly launched creative commerce, use of data and B2B category. The announcement, made on 18 March, signals the awards’ intent to bring serious international muscle to a category that sits squarely at the intersection of creativity and commercial performance.
Ramalho is not a name that needs much introduction in global advertising circles. Over 25 years spanning three countries, he has worked at some of the industry’s most creatively restless addresses. At AKQA in San Francisco, he worked across McDonald’s, Nike, Fox, Target, Kraft Foods and GAP, and helped lead “The Lost Ring” for McDonald’s, one of the first alternate reality campaigns and among the most awarded projects of its era. He later moved to Organic in Toronto, bridging the Detroit and Toronto offices on Dodge, Jeep and Chrysler, before spending over a decade building CUBOCC into one of Brazil’s most iconic and innovative independent agencies, which subsequently joined the IPG network.
A stint at FCB followed, where Ramalho led integrated work bridging online and offline, before he joined R/GA São Paulo as vice-president and executive creative director, stitching together the São Paulo office with New York, London, Portland and California on global clients including Verizon, Google, Meta, Samsung, American Express and Heineken. He now heads Publicis Brazil as its chief creative officer.
His trophy cabinet includes Clios, Effies, TikTok awards and MMA Smarties, and he has served on juries at the Andys, TikTok and the Lisbon Awards.
The Abby Awards 2026 is scheduled to take place at Goafest 2026 on 20, 21 and 22 May in Goa.
For Indian advertising, landing a jury chair of Ramalho’s calibre for a category built around data-driven creativity and commerce is a statement of ambition. Goafest just raised its own bar.
