Your 5 to 9 routine after your 9 to 5?

Beyond work, I am deeply invested in working with some of the worlds best professionals - from CEOs to sports champions in the area of developing and honing power skills - the core skills to win in the 21st century.

A book or show you recently read/watched that you would recommend?

My evergreen wholesome shows are Ted Lasso and Modern Family. A recent show I really liked was Made In India - The Titan Story. I recommend this to a lot of founders and CEOs I work with - all the principles of good brand building are nicely told in this series. Gaurav Gandhi and team continue to mine gems.

What wins would you like to celebrate from the last six months or a year, at work or in life?

I work with some of India’s leading CEOs and founders on their business challenges so that is always gratifying. On life, one of the milestones I want to achieve is winning the Procam Slam medal - a testament to many years of long distance running and marathon training.

Which industry leader has impacted you the most?

I have had amazing mentors especially in my early HUL /Unilever years and an inspiring industry leader for me has been. Sanjiv Mehta - for his legendary business acumen as well his outlook on life and family and relationship. Strongly recommend his book - The CEOs Brew.

The biggest development in the A&M industry this month...

June was Cannes month so worth pointing out that while the Big AI and Big Tech were talking Agentic AI, the real deal was the rise of the creators - signaling how human connection will still be valuable in the age of technology.

An ad film from the previous month that caught your attention?

I see a lot of fairly average ads across industries, but one was really caught my attention for its refreshing narrative was the Colgate ad with Prateik Babbar honouring his mother Smita Patil’s smile. Well done Prabha Narasimhan and team. A lesson for all marketers - great storytelling starts from a human insight. Start there for compelling distinctive communication.

Siddharth Banerjee is former CEO, UNIVO Education.

This article first appeared in the July issue of Manifest, which can be purchased here.