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 That’s a question I have been asking myself
the last few days and a lot of names come to my mind.
But I am not able to make a choice. That is not because
there is a lack of achievers or clear frontrunners that
come to mind. The truth is that the Indian Media and
Advertising landscape is so dynamic right now, that
multiple magnum opuses are being created by visionary
entrepreneurs and talented entrepreneurial managers
and CEOs. The only thing that I am wondering about,
like many others in the business, is when I will be
there in that list. I am sure that as you read my ramblings
right now, you are as inspired and excited about the
Impact Person of the Year 2007 (IPOY) as I am.
If I look
at the list of 25 nominees as drawn by AC Nielsen based
on their extensive and exhaustive
research amongst industry professionals, it has some
USUAL SUSPECTS - the usual media barons and advertising
agency torchbearers. Some of the names were there last
year and have managed to stay relevant and on top of
their game in 2007 too. It also has new entrants like
the Neo Richie, Harish Thawani, and Haresh Chawla, whose
entry is probably recognition of his role in creating
Network 18 along with Raghav Behl - who of course should
be among the front runners and rightly so. Accentuating
the idiom ‘You can’t keep a good man down’
is Pradeep Guha, alongside his promoter and chairman,
the visionary and charismatic Subhash Chandra. Does
this signal that Indian Media companies have become
professionally run and their Promoters put people fi
rst and not themselves? The answer is YES and NO. The
last two years’ winners are also there among the
nominees. Peter Mukerjea, who alongside Indrani Mukerjea,
has created INX, and Rajdeep Sardesai, who continues
to stay top of mind with the industry. UTV’s promoter
Ronnie Screwvala also makes a BINDAAS entry.
There are three nominees who I am very happy to see,
and I believe I am justifi ed in feeling so. Anil
Ambani of Reliance ADAG created a BIG impact and has
played the game very astutely. His forays into
entertainment signaled his arrival into media and
the first impact is being felt now. Dr. Vijay Mallya
of Kingfisher is someone who would make to the who’s
who or achievers among the top corporate honchos of
India. Mallya, who has built the Kingfi sher brand
into a brand that is relevant across many product
categories, is a case in point -- does that mean that
I cannot now crack my joke that Kingfisher Airlines
is the costliest way to build a surrogate communication
route for a beer brand? And the Sam Walton of India,
Kishore Biyani, for building a formidable retail presence
and hence a strong ambient future media option. I
particularly feel that these three represent the future
of what’s going to impact our industry.
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Come to
look at it, all three are really not from our industry.
Anil Ambani is from the Telecom business, Mallya from
Liquor and Kishore Biyani from Retail. Is the line
blurring between different businesses? The truth is,
it is.
The two
biggies of Indian Media space, Vineet Jain and Shobhana
Bhartia, are rightly there as both have taken their
respective companies to new heights and created shareholder
value. Times Now is now looking good and HT is fi
nancially stronger than ever.
The
media czar from Southern India, Kalanidhi Maran, makes
a quite presence, and is joined by
advertising execs Colvyn Harris, Balki, Prasoon and
Piyush Pandey, who continue to create campaigns and
brands for their clients with aplomb. The marketer
brigade is represented by Harit Nagpal and his Vodafone
campaign would have kept him top of mind. Not to forget
Jagdish Khattar, who has consistently steered Maruti
to the chequered fl ag in the auto market race. The
Madison man Sam Balsara, who continues to solidly
consolidate his presence, represents the Media Planning
and Services domain.
The two bearded men of news, Prannoy Roy of NDTV, for
Imagining big, and Tehelka’s Tarun Tejpal, also
stay in contention. Sanjeev Bikhchandani’s market
capitalisation and consistent delivery has probably
put him there. Santosh Desai is probably top of mind
for the momentum of his past and his high visibility
in newspaper columns. Perhaps you could ask what he
did this year to feature among the Impact Person of
the year Nominees. Maybe he showed the way to other
professionals in the advertising
industry, by urging them to be smarter and look at
options beyond advertising agencies, even while they
are still in their prime in advertising.
Who would I choose as IPOY? Would it matter, since I
am not getting to do it?
However, let me admit that I wish there were fresher
and younger faces. Does size of the business come
into play? When will we see a single channel player
like Rajat Sharma draw top honours? I keep hearing
and meeting young leaders in our industry who are
doing a great job, albeit silently. When will a B
Sai Kumar, a Maheshwar Peri or an Arnab Goswami feature
in this list?
Surely, they ought to. And so should several others.
But alas, I was not part of this Electoral College
that short-listed the nominees.
So I shall wait for the 20th of December, for the winner
to be announced. And I shall celebrate, along with
the industry, the achievement of one inspiring individual.
The voters have not disappointed us in the last two
years. We have full faith in them. After all, this
is not about winners and losers. It’s about
celebrating one individual’s inspiring achievement.
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