Webchutney’s co-founder Sidharth Rao is no more
Rao passed away on Friday evening. He is survived by his parents and wife
Sidharth Rao who co-founded one of India’s first and top digital agencies Webchutney is no more.
Rao passed away on Friday evening, he is survived by his parents and wife.
Rao founded Webchutney in 1999 which was later acquired by Japanese multinational media network Dentsu in 2013. While he continued to head Webchutney, it was in 2021 when he was appointed as head of the India unit of dentsuMB, the restructured global creative network of the company.
In 2022 Rao stepped down as group CEO of dentsuMB India and joined hands with his close confidant and serial entrepreneur Madhu Sudan, to launch a new venture in the marketing technology (MarTech) space, called Punt Partners.
Sharing the news of his demise, Punt Partners said: "It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our friend and founder, Sidharth Rao. He suffered a fatal cardiac arrest on the 21st of April at his home in Karjat. Sid's sudden demise has left us all in shock, and we request everyone's time to grieve the loss of our beloved friend, son, brother, husband and colleague. Sid's family is especially thankful for all the condolences and messages of support during this time."
Several industry leaders expressed their shock and sorrow on Rao's demise.
In the advertising fraternity, sid was one of my closest friends, we had both sold our companies around the same time to Dentsu, so spent a lot of time during the time at Dentsu together, he was one of the most brilliant and the sweetest guys anyone could have ever known, just can't digest or accept the fact that he is no more, we just had our ProfitWheel offsite at his farmhouse in Karjat and he has postponed his flight to Dubai just to spend time with us .... I write this with tears in my eyes, although the heart is too numb to accept that I will never be able to speak with him again
- Vivek Bhargava, Co-Founder, ProfitWheel
I am shocked, absolutely unbelievable. I thought he just started another life, and will have another long innings and I can’t believe he’s gone! To me he was such a spirited guy, always with a smile and a twinkle in his eye. Will miss him terribly. I remember when I put in my papers at Dentsu last year, he called and had a long chat at night, asking me stay. So loving, so giving, so passionate. Gone so too soon!
- Titus Upputuru, Founder & Chief Creative Officer, The Titus Upputuru Company
This is really shocking. Not only me but I’m sure many in the advertising community must be going through this jolt. It is just hard to believe that Siddharth is no more with us. My mind, heart is refusing to believe that this is happening. It’s a great loss for the industry. He was a rare find in the ad world. A visionary who always had a bold and fearless approach which actually made him what he was. He is the one who opened the doors of Webchutney for me and helped changed my life. Helped me learn and grow. He was a great mentor. A great friend. We will miss you Siddharth.
- Pravin Sutar, Creative Head, Leo Burnett Orchard
I did not know Sidhartha personally, but I have met him on a few occasions. The few times that I did meet him, I found him to be extremely bright and impressive. He was generous with his compliments and kind with his words. What he managed to build, is an agency and a culture that rose to the top of the world in 2022. He will be sorely missed by the industry.
- Kainaz Karmakar, CCO, Ogilvy
The news of Sid’s death is a huge shock. A gem of an individual, besides being a creative person at heart, Sid wore many hats - that of an entrepreneur, an author, a mentor to his juniors, an investor, a colleague, a friend and above all husband and son and he excelled in all. Always willing to help, Sid was a source of inspiration to many, whose lives he touched. Gone too soon, this is a huge loss for the Industry and for me personally as well. His memories will remain with us forever.
- Anand Bhadkamkar, Group CFO & President - Strategy, LS Digital
Woke up to this terrible news this morning. Can't believe that Sid is no more. I met Sid in early 2013. After the acquisition of Taproot, I was looking for a digital acquisition at Dentsu. Webchutney was the best option at that time. Sid was a pioneer. He had the vision to create a digital agency way before digital marketing really took off in India. Sid had this very earthy and completely disarming way about him. Everyone in Webchutney loved him. He was a truly empathetic leader. Sid will be missed.
- Rohit Ohri, Chairman and CEO FCB Group India
“This is a huge loss for all of us. Sid was one of the brightest, unassuming and a super human being. We will miss him.”
- Sukesh Nayak, CCO, Ogilvy India
This is truly heartbreaking. Myself and Sidharth were on regular touch over the phone and I was supposed to meet him next week in Mumbai. Now that will never happen. He was a close friend. Apart from my personal loss, Sidharth’s demise is a big setback for our industry. He was a visionary and had a lot more to contribute. He left too soon. Go in peace my friend. Om Shanti.
- Ajay Gahlaut, Ex-Dentsu
It is a very personal loss. We spoke just a day before. There were some amazing qualities that only Sidharth had, besides being a great creative leader he was. He was absolutely pure and full of love. He was an integral part of our executive team and he could go to any extent for the people he loved. He built leaders and he was the soul of Webchutney. He inspired loyalty in the people.
- Ashish Bhasin, Co- Founder and Chairman RD&X Network. Former CEO APAC and Chairman India, DentsuSidharth was a visionary and very extraordinary person. 25 years ago when he started Webchutney as a digital agency, nobody knew digital. His passion for creativity and ideas, every time I met him or call him to discuss an idea, he would always appreciate the ideas. Last year Anant Rangaswami passed away, and I met Sid via Anant. I am going to miss Sidharth, his energy, his passion, and his emotions.
Raj Kamble, Founder and CCO, Famous Innovations
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