The ad world is poorer without Kurien Mathews

Guest Column: Veteran adman Ramesh Narayan remembers Kurien Mathews as a friendly soul who made a mark on anyone who met him

by Ramesh Narayan
Published: Oct 6, 2023 2:50 PM | 1 min read

In the days I ran an advertising agency, I had, of course, heard of Anthem and the young man who founded it and then merged it with TBWA.

In the early 2000s, the late Mike Khanna asked me to join as a Trustee of the Subhas Ghosal Trust. Many of the meetings would be held at Titoo Ahluwalias' residence in Colaba and that's when I began regularly meeting Kurien Mathews. Always smiling and very amiable, we hit it off immediately.

Then I heard that he was investing in Conscious Foods a company owned by a college friend of mine and I marvelled at the entrepreneurial streak in him.

That was to blossom even more with his entry into the digital age with his investment in Rage and then Metal.

With me leaving the agency world, our meetings were restricted to him faithfully attending my annual get-together.

Then a few months ago, he dropped into my office and we chatted about how the industry associations needed pro bono work from agencies in different areas of expertise.

Kurien was one of those friendly souls who will always be remembered by anyone who came into contact with him.

The advertising world is poorer with his sudden demise.

Ramesh Narayan, Founder of Canco Advertising, Director Strategy, Asian Federation of Advertising Associations (AFAA) and Mancom Member India Chapter IAA