MAM
Souraav Deb joins Dentsu India as vice president
GURGAON: Souraav Deb has taken over as vice president at Dentsu India, marking another senior leadership move in the country’s fast-consolidating media and marketing business. With nearly 15 years across digital, television and integrated media, Deb arrives with a reputation for scale, structure and performance.
At Dentsu India, Deb will be responsible for driving integrated media strategy, digital acceleration and large client mandates at a time when advertisers are demanding sharper accountability and measurable growth. His appointment underscores Dentsu’s push to deepen its leadership bench as brands rebalance spend across digital, video and TV-plus ecosystems.
Deb joins from EssenceMediacom India, where he served as senior director, strategy, leading a client cluster with a focus on data-led planning, performance optimisation and growth outcomes. Before that, he spent nearly two years at Haleon, formerly GSK Consumer Healthcare, managing the repeatable growth model across EMEA markets. His remit covered category and consumer analysis, media effectiveness, in-channel optimisation and allocation of offline and online media budgets linked directly to net sales upside.
Earlier, at Publicis Groupe, Deb held senior leadership roles across strategy and revenue management, overseeing portfolios worth over Rs 150 crore and managing P&L responsibilities while driving new business wins. His career also includes a long stint at Wavemaker, where he led digital strategy and buying for marquee clients including Hero Motocorp and Pernod Ricard India, scaling digital spends and winning industry recognition for performance-led campaigns.
Deb began his career in media planning, buying and operations at Starcom and iAvatarZ Digital, working across categories such as mobile handsets, telecom and automotive. Over the years, he has handled brands including Samsung, Aircel, Hero Motocorp and Motorola, building expertise across display, mobile, social media, programmatic and TV-plus video and OTT.
Known for blending strategic rigour with executional discipline, Deb brings a rare mix of hands-on digital depth and boardroom-level perspective. As marketers chase efficiency, reach and growth in equal measure, Dentsu India has placed a proven operator at the centre of the action.
Brands
Jubilant FoodWorks faces Rs 47.5 crore GST demand, plans appeal
Tax authorities flag alleged misclassification of restaurant services
MUMBAI: Jubilant FoodWorks Limited has landed in a tax tussle after receiving a GST demand of Rs 47.5 crore from the office of the additional commissioner of CGST and central excise in Thane, Maharashtra.
The order, issued under the provisions of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, relates to an alleged incorrect classification of certain services under the category of restaurant services. According to the tax authorities, this classification resulted in a short payment of goods and services tax for the period between the financial years 2019-20 and 2021-22.
The demand includes Rs 47.5 crore in GST along with an equal amount as penalty, in addition to applicable interest. The order was received by the company on March 13, 2026.
In a regulatory filing to the BSE Limited and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited, the company said it disagrees with the order and believes its arguments were not adequately considered.
The company is preparing to challenge the decision and plans to file an appeal. It added that once the redressal process is complete, the demand is likely to be dropped.
Despite the sizeable figure attached to the notice, the company said it does not expect any material impact on its financials, operations or other activities.
The disclosure was signed by Suman Hegde, EVP and chief financial officer, who confirmed that the company received the order at 19:06 IST on March 13 and has already initiated steps to contest it.
The development places the quick service restaurant major in the middle of a tax debate that could hinge on how certain restaurant-linked services are classified under GST rules. For now, the company appears ready to take the matter from the tax office to the appeals desk.
