MAM
Leo Burnett appoints Hemant Jain as ECD
MUMBAI: Leo Burnett has roped in Hemant Jain as executive creative director. He will be based out of Mumbai. This is Jain‘s second stint with the agency.
Jain comes to India from Wieden+Kennedy, London. Earlier, he was with Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam office.His earlier stints in India include O&M and Rediffussion Y&R.
Says Leo Burnett India national creative director K.V. Sridhar, “Hemant comes in at the right moment. His global perspective on creative output will strengthen and add visibility to the strategic initiatives we have chalked out for our clients, for the coming year.”
Jain is also a writer, director and illustrator and has won international awards including Cannes Gold and Clio to One Show, D&AD, Abby and AAAI.
MAM
Ad veteran Amitabha Lahiri passes away; led MASH Advertising as CEO
Industry remembers seasoned leader who shaped brands across top agencies
NEW DELHI: Amitabha Lahiri, a seasoned name in India’s advertising industry and chief executive officer of MASH Advertising, has passed away, according to media reports.
Lahiri brought with him over three decades of experience across some of the country’s most prominent agencies, carving a reputation for building brands and businesses with equal ease. At MASH Advertising, a unit of Percept Ltd, he played a key role in shaping the agency’s direction and growth since its inception.
He joined the Percept group in 2007 as senior vice president at Hakuhodo Percept and was later elevated to chief operating officer. He eventually went on to lead MASH India as chief executive, steering the agency through its formative years and positioning it as a creative and strategic player in the market.
Before his stint with Percept, Lahiri held leadership roles across leading global networks. He served as vice president at Dentsu Marcom and JWT, and earlier as vice president and branch head at Everest Brand Solutions in Delhi. His career also included significant tenures at McCann Worldgroup, Lowe Lintas and Leo Burnett, where he honed his expertise in account management and brand strategy.
Colleagues and industry peers remember Lahiri as a steady hand in a fast-changing business, someone who combined creative instinct with sharp commercial understanding. His journey from early roles in Mumbai’s advertising scene to leading agencies in Delhi reflects the evolution of India’s ad industry itself.
His passing marks the loss of a veteran who helped shape campaigns, teams and agencies across decades. As the industry continues to evolve, Lahiri’s legacy will endure in the many brands he influenced and the professionals he mentored along the way.
