Vishnu Mohan Earlier this month, the Havas Group announced an organisational restructure, part of which sees Vishnu Mohan, chairman and CEO, Havas Group Southeast Asia, India and North Asia, exit the Havas brand. Mohan, who will be transitioning to a content role in June 2021 at a group level with Vivendi, had joined Havas in 1995 after a stint with Rediffusion in India.
In a conversation with Campaign India, he reminisces about the last 25 years, what lies ahead and all the learnings he’s gleaned by working at Havas.
A petroleum engineer by discipline, Mohan joined Rediffusion in Mumbai in 1991 straight from IIM Ahmedabad. “I was digging oil in the middle of the ocean before I decided to shift careers and join advertising. I owe the shift to Ajit Balakrishnan (co-founder, Rediffusion) and for me, he is one of the most dynamic people with a true vision of what he wanted the shape of the industry to be. He impressed me so much when he came for campus placements, and wanted me to join the industry. I also saw advertising as a challenge; I thought of myself as an introvert and the advertising industry is an extroverted industry. I thought of it as a perfect place to join and change this,” said Mohan, about his early days in the industry.