MAM
Industry grieves Anand Halve’s death
MUMBAI: November 23, the Indian advertising community woke up to the bitter truth that the veteran brand consultant and Chlorophyll founder Anand Halve or Andy, as he was lovingly called, is no more. Halve was not keeping well for long and finally succumbed to pneumonia the previous day.
It was Chlorophyll’s MD and Halve’s dear friend Kiran Khalap who broke the news first on twitter, saying: “The Chlorophyll community grieves the untimely death of its co-founder, father of brand planning in India & friend to millions: Anand Halve.”
Following this, the industry poured in with their messages of condolences, and Twitter was flooded with ‘Rest In peace’ messages addressed to him, some even quoting lines from verses he had penned.
Harsha Bhogle: Am in agony at the passing of Anand Halve,one of the finest minds in advertising & someone who was always very kind to me when I started out.
Journalist Sucheta Dalal : Just heard the really sad news that our friend @anandhalve is no more. #RIP U will be sorely missed Andy … and your guidance & support.
MasterCard head of MasterPass Monica Jasuja: R.I.P. Anand Halve, I miss his positive motivational friendly self on Twitter. Pls keep him in your prayers.
OgilvyOne SVP Namrata Balwani: Very sad to hear of the passing away of a legend. What a mind. Still remember Anand Halve teaching us at MICA. And his shairi tweets.
Addressing Halve as ‘first of the planning tribe’ Ambi Parameswaran also took to social media to express his shock.
Often credited as the pioneer of account planning in Indian advertising, Halve’s influence in the advertising world runs far and deep that even those who didn’t know him in person expressed their shock upon hearing the news.
“It is unfortunate that I didn’t know him too well in person but I can attest that his contribution to the advertising fraternity will be forever cherished. As a person, he was well-liked by his peers and he will be dearly missed,” shared Publicis south Asia CEO Nakul Chopra.
Before setting up Chlorophyll in 1999, Halve was associated with Enterprise Nexus for close to a decade. He has also closely worked with the legendary adman Mohammed Khan. Halve started his advertising journey way back in 1977 by joining Lintas, post that he spent a short time at the start-up Fulcrum with Kersy Katrak.
Lintas grieved his loss by releasing a creative tribute to remember the genius that Halve was.
“Andy was one of the finer minds in advertising, always ready to share his insights with both, the journalistic and the advertising community, whether junior, senior or peer. He was a futuristic thinker who embraced brand understanding, research and planning way ahead of others in that glorious period of advertising in the late eighties and early nineties. I remember Mohammed (Khan) relying on him greatly in those days. May his soul rest in peace,” said Indiantelevision.com founder, CEO and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari.
The Advertising Club president Raj Nayak said: “Anand Halve was one of the first account planning person I had heard of during the early days of my career. Humility was his biggest asset. Was always warm and probably one of the best strategic minds in the advertising industry. We will miss him.”
AD Agencies
WPP Media elevates Dipti Gulati to vp, client growth for APMEA
Singapore-based executive to commercialise AI-powered solutions business across the region
SINGAPORE: WPP Media has promoted Dipti Gulati to vice president, client growth, handing her the mandate to lead the commercialisation of its solutions business across APMEA.
Based in Singapore, Gulati steps up after serving as senior director, client growth, where she drove expansion across APAC spanning programmatic, search, social, CTV, DOOH and cross-channel offerings. Now, she is tasked with translating advanced AI, data and technology ecosystems into scalable growth strategies for global brands across FMCG, luxury, F&B and financial services.
“I commercialise the future of media — at scale, across APMEA,” Gulati said, announcing her appointment. She added that she turns advanced data, AI and technology ecosystems into real commercial outcomes, shifting the conversation “from a pure media play to owning business outcomes”.
Her brief is unapologetically future-facing: addressable, accountable and AI-powered media. She will work with cross-market teams across APMEA, bringing together diverse perspectives and cultures to accelerate growth and build what she calls the “future of media”.
Gulati’s rise caps nearly two years at WPP Media and follows a six-month stint as regional director of growth, APAC, at Mindshare, where she led new business development and expanded capabilities for existing clients. Earlier, as global account director for integrated marketing communications on the Unilever business, she drove communications strategy for multi-million dollar beauty and wellbeing brands across Southeast Asia.
Before that, Gulati spent close to two years as associate director at Warner Bros. Discovery in Singapore. She also served as director, strategic partnerships and market development at TrustSphere, leading go-to-market and growth initiatives across Asia and evangelising relationship analytics to C-level executives. TrustSphere, credited by industry and Harvard Business School case studies as a pioneer in relationship analytics, became a springboard for her deeper engagement with data-driven growth.
Her board and evangelist roles at the Asia Cloud Computing Association and its Asia Analytics Alliance further sharpened her regional policy and analytics credentials. Earlier chapters include marketing consultancy at Blockchain Foundry and a seven-year run at Warner Bros. Discovery in India, where she led ad-sales and business development for HBO and WB across north and east India, delivering record billings. She began her career at Diligent Media Corporation Ltd and Bennett, Coleman and Co. Ltd..
From ad-sales floors in Delhi and Mumbai to boardrooms in Singapore, Gulati’s arc mirrors the industry’s own shift — from selling spots and slots to engineering outcomes through data and AI. At WPP Media, the brief is clear: scale smarter, move faster and turn algorithms into advantage.
