Anil Kapoor, Chairman Emeritus at DraftFCB+ Ulka, has passed away. Kapoor had been battling cancer for a long time.

He was former Managing Director & CEO, FCB-Ulka Group.

Among the many achievements of Kapoor, he was appointed as a member of the FCB Worldwide (Foote, Cone & Belding) Board, New York in August 2019, thus becoming the first Indian advertising agency head to be a part of the apex worldwide board.

Remembering Kapoor, Shashi Sinha, CEO, IPG Mediabrands, said, “I am devastated as he was a mentor, guide and above all a friend who helped me and moulded me to the professional I am today. Owe a lot to him. Heartfelt condolences to his immediate family, and we and the Ulka family will mourn an irreparable loss.”

Sharing grief, Ashish Bhasin, CEO APAC and Chairman India, Dentsu Aegis Network, said Kapoor's demise has left a huge void in the industry.

“Mr Anil Kapoor, or Billy Kapoor as he was popularly called, was one of the doyens of the industry. He commanded respect from clients as well as partners, which is rare to find today. In my interactions with him, I remember him to be extremely confident.”

“He was patriotic in equal measure. I remember an instance wherein Shashi (Sinha) and I were quietly standing in queue during an India-Sri Lanka cricket match in Colombo and had been waiting for a while. There came Billy Kapoor, walked past the security guard confidently, scolding him that keeping us waiting for so long was wrong, and we meekly followed him in, as he regally marched on with us as his tails. There I understood the value of confidence in life.”

“His generation had gentlemen who are sadly just going away and that leaves a huge void in the industry. He will be missed. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.”

Sharing his memories, Rohit Ohri, Group Chairman & CEO, FCB India, remembered a meeting he had with Kapoor before taking charge of FCB Ulka in 2016.

“Mein tumhe apni beti de raha hoon’ (I am handing over my daughter to you). This is what Anil Kapoor said to me when I took over as Group Chairman & CEO of FCB Ulka in 2016. Ulka was the daughter he had loved and nurtured for almost three decades. 

“He asked me to meet him for an afternoon coffee and our conversation took us almost to breakfast of the following day! His passion for the agency and brands that he had built was evident. Listening to him as he ran me through the history of Ulka, was a master class in the Anil Kapoor School of Advertising. He was a fearless man who always believed in doing the right thing. His razor-sharp mind would first interrogate the business model and product delivery before thinking of communication, getting many a client to re-evaluate their marketing strategies.”

“Thank you Anil. For sharing with me the ‘secret sauce’ that made Ulka what it is. And, for trusting me with your daughter.”