MAM
Wieden + Kennedy India appoints Anirban Roy to lead strategic planning
Mumbai: Anirban Roy has joined Wieden + Kennedy India’s leadership team to head strategic planning for the Delhi and Mumbai offices. He will be operating out of the Mumbai office.
Anirban’s exposure has been rich, having worked on several brands at various agencies and various cities. In his last role, he was head of strategic planning for McCann Worldgroup in Delhi. Prior to that, he worked at Ogilvy and Saatchi. He has worked in Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Manila, where he steered strategic conversations at Nestle, Yum Foods, BMW, Amazon, Coke, and Unilever, among others. He has also helped script the brand narrative for some of India’s unicorn start-ups like Licious & Flipkart.
Speaking of his appointment, Roy said, “Very few people in their lifetime get to work in a place that’s revered for its irreverence & celebrated for being a ‘cathedral of creativity’. I am grateful to Ayesha and Paddy for this opportunity and feel lucky to be a part of this team that will write a new chapter for W+K India. Looking forward to the dance.”
Commenting on the hire, W+K India president Ayesha Ghosh said, “With Anirban’s valuable perspective, we intend to steer the fundamental brand thinking and look forward to building lasting brand relationships. While we’ll always have room for brands that want to do short-term projects, the real test of an agency lies in building brands over years, like W+K has done with Indigo. Anirban has steered important brand conversations for many big MNC clients, as well as for start-ups, and in doing so, has helped them win Effie, Cannes, AME, Kyoorius, and D&AD awards. I’m really excited to see him at work at W+K.”
W+K India CCO Santosh Padhi added, “Client, creative, account management, and strategic planning are the four key pillars of advertising that build and hold the foundation of a brand and help grow its business. I’m happy that we now have the fourth pillar in order, with Anirban, to help our brands grow stronger, bigger, and bolder.”
Brands
Jubilant FoodWorks faces Rs 47.5 crore GST demand, plans appeal
Tax authorities flag alleged misclassification of restaurant services
MUMBAI:Â 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.
