Brevity, clarity, speed characterised Pradeep Guha. Like his simple signature, which was but a tick-mark, as if it meant ‘just go ahead and do it’. Aim high, set quality standards, inspire the team and just do it was the simple strategy he employed. The legendary Media Man who put India on the Global Media map in many ways, is no more.
His professional achievements are multifarious – dominance in print media, advertising excellence, beauty queens, mega-format ground events; the list goes on. He was one of the earliest of the current generation of high flyers who burst on to the Indian corporate landscape in the late 80s and blazed through the 90s. The Young Turk who kept rising.
Mr Guha was a man who made ordinary people do extraordinary things. Someone who did not hold the below-average person in contempt like present-day CEOs do routinely. PG did not ever make you feel lesser if you achieved less. He simply made you achieve more over time: M K Anand
PG, as he was known to most, was unique. An egalitarian manager, he was both imposing and comforting at once. This was a man who made ordinary people do extraordinary things. Someone who did not hold the below-average person in contempt like present-day CEOs do routinely. PG did not ever make you feel lesser if you achieved less. He simply made you achieve more over time.
Testimony of a true leader is not the work he leaves behind, but the people he has impacted and influenced. By that measure, Mr. Guha is arguably one of the greatest corporate managers of modern India. The majority of us professional managers in Indian Media and Advertising have been influenced by his style directly or indirectly. And we are all happy he was in our lives as he stitched us all into a close-knit fraternity that has endured over the decades.
PG was extremely well-read and almost expertly knowledgeable about most subjects. And the beauty of the man’s inimitable style was that you never ever felt patronised in his presence. No feeling of parental guidance whatsoever. He spoke only what was necessary. And effectively. No unsolicited advice ever, but coveted pearls of wisdom when you did seek his help and advice.
I speak for all of us whom he has left behind, when I say that we are poorer and lesser equipped to face our challenges without this superman’s presence in our lives.