Flying high in the ad sky

to savour, strive and excel at the opportunities that come his way could well define diwan arun nanda’s maxim in life. chairman and managing director, rediffusion-dy&r brand communications and co-chairman dy&r/impiric, asia pacific, a network spread across 33 offices in 13 countries in asia pacific. it’s been an assiduous journey for nanda, whose only aspiration as a college student was to be an air force pilot — a dream he had to forsake because he was flat footed and colour blind. after gaining a first class bcom degree from loella college, chennai, the academically brilliant nanda had a bitter taste of rejection. “i was turned down by grindlays bank and avery for the post of a management trainee. my self esteem certainly took a battering but i also realised that i needed to be more qualified.� thereafter, nanda enrolled himself in the first batch of iim, ahmedabad, graduated with a gold medal and was invited by harvard university with an all expenses paid offer to do his phd, an offer he rejected, preferring instead to work in india. nanda joined hindustan lever as management trainee, a tenure which lasted six years. “my job involved controlling some of the country’s biggest campaigning budgets. though i had the expertise in marketing, i felt i was unable to judge advertising campaigns and that i was merely approving what the agency was presenting to me.� it was to learn the nuances of advertising that nanda joined mcm as accounts director, an experience he describes as both great and terrible. “great because i worked with some of the finest creative talents and terrible because i found the company totally disorganised.� his characteristic bluntness resulted in conflict with the authorities which cost him his job. “honesty is very important to me. it does lead to misunderstandings at times, but it lets others know where they stand with you,� he states. reminiscing on the nondescript origins of rediffusion, one of the country’s leading age day is a rs 700-crore communications conglomerate. nanda says, “i was 28 when i left mcm and had a family to support. that’s when a friend ajit balakrishnan suggested we start our own agency. we had no clients and no work to show for ourselves. what went in our favour was age — we were young and adventurous and our venture didn’t require much capital. we roped in another friend, mohammad khan, and in partnership we started rediffusion. we operated from khan’s residence and made calls from the grocer’s shop. we started with a few clients who had faith in us, obtained a bank loan and bought a 720 sq ft office at worli. initially, the going was very tough — we borrowed money to pay for the phone deposit and to hire furniture which wasn’t enough for our staff.� what kept him going? “faith in myself, a positive outlook, perseverance and, most importantly, humility. humility to acknowledge and work hard to learn what i do not know.� nanda has varied interests which he has pursued in confluence with advertising. he was involved in strategic planning for eight years in his capacity as advisor to the then prime minister rajiv gandhi. he has been a member of the jawaharlal nehru centenary committee, a member on the air-india board of directors, a judge at the cannes film festival. he has led the indian delegation to the asian advertising congress at tokyo in 1993 and has served two tenures as president of aaai, india. extensive travelling, long working hours, does he ever feel stressed out? “no,� he replies. “one has to accept the fact that the higher you go in an organisation, that many more problems you are expected to solve. moreover, i regularly meditate, which helps me to detach.� what, according to him are the qualities that make a good leader? “a good leader must have a sense of fairness, should not indulge in politics, should be knowledgeable enough to be emulated and respected and must be brutally honest.� he believes that indian advertising has changed dramatically. “we may be slightly inferior technically but otherwise we are on par with international standards.� nanda admits to being a loner and likes nothing more than unwinding with close friends at home. “i like being in the company of people i can relate to.i don’t socialise, which i consider a waste of time and intellectual energy.when i have the time, i like to visit the racecourse or play a game of bridge. i find activities which are mentally engaging, relaxing.� his aspiration at this stage in life is rather simple: “to evolve spiritually.�