Bash on, regardless: Vikram Sakhuja on life lessons and leadership

Vikram Sakhuja, Group CEO of Madison Media & OOH, was honored with the AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award on January 10, 2025, in Mumbai. In his heart-felt acceptance speech that was truly a treasure trove of wisdom, Sakhuja candidly reflected on the moment he was informed about receiving the award. His initial reaction was one of disbelief as he thought, “Wow, but why?” Seeking an answer to this question, he turned to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s wisdom: “It is not the destination, it is always the journey.” This quote became the guiding principle for his speech, as he revisited the journey – milestones, relationships, and life lessons that have shaped his 38-year journey in Advertising and Marketing.

Sakhuja credited his mother for instilling in him values of practicality, fairness, and love. He also paid a heartfelt tribute to his wife, Simmi Sakhuja, describing her as “a person with the highest action bias I have ever met.” He praised her ability to make things happen and bring both “light and electricity” into his life and marriage, calling her the wind beneath his wings.

His professional journey began with a two-year stint at DCM, followed by significant roles at Procter & Gamble (P&G) and Coca-Cola. At P&G, he gained expertise in market research and media, learning from leaders like Joy Gupta, Bharat Patel, and Shantanu Khosla. At Coca-Cola, under the guidance of Sanjiv Gupta, he honed skills in multimedia advertising, sponsorships, and brand activations, contributing to the launch and relaunch of several brands.

In 2000, Sakhuja joined Mindshare during its inception, where he played a key role in shaping India's Media agency landscape. Sakhuja later recounted his decision to join Madison, a move he described as “a calling rather than a choice.” He spoke about how the organisation allowed him to channel his entrepreneurial spirit while working closely with leaders like Sam Balsara. Joining Madison became a defining chapter in his career.

In this interview, as Vikram Sakhuja reflects on his journey, he recalls receiving his first paycheck. He reveals that he would title his autobiography ‘Bash on, regardless’, a phrase that encapsulates his philosophy of tenacity. Sakhuja elaborates on what bashing on looked like for him—navigating challenges, embracing opportunities, and staying passionate about his craft. 

Excerpts:

Q. Congratulations on receiving the AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award! What does this recognition mean to you personally and professionally?

A validation from ones’ peers is hugely gratifying and humbling. It feels great. 

Q. Mr. Sakhuja, could you take us back to your college days? After completing your BTech degree, what motivated you to venture into marketing—especially during a time when traditional career paths like engineering, medicine, and chartered accountancy were the norm?

When I was in IIT, while I held my own in engineering courses, I enjoyed the humanities courses more. I was also deeply involved in amateur theatre. Post IIT I was a DCM Management Trainee for 2 years which gave me an excellent overview of behavioural sciences, marketing, procurement, finance and manufacturing. I was fascinated with decoding consumers and that gave rise to my calling in Marketing which I majored in IIM

Q. Do you remember your first salary? Could you describe what it felt like to earn that first paycheck? 

1610 Rs/ month from DCM as an MT. It seemed princely. It went up to 2410/- in year 2. I lived as a modest paying guest in Mumbai, but my lifestyle was a bit more royal. 

Q. Could you share the story behind your role in establishing India's first Media Agency of Record (AOR)? How did you convince clients and partners to adopt this new agency model at a time when it was largely unheard of in India?

I was in P&G working in Market Research when I got a role enhancement in early 1993 to look after Media as well. At that point I was reading about a concept called Agency of record that P&G was rolling out across markets. I asked my Boss why we hadn’t adopted it. To me it made sense to consolidate buying volumes across brand spends spread across 4 Agencies. He told me to go ahead and kick off the process. So I did it and initiated the Buying AOR pitch (that Madison as it turns out won). Internal stakeholders didn’t need convincing. I just overcame inertia. 

Q. When did you realise that you are on the right path in your career? 

The realisation that I want to seek a future in Marketing as indicated came early. Thereafter the only reality checks I did were on what my growth was – both in learning and responsibility. In P&G, I reached a middle manager position in Market Research and Media reasonably fast; but because of the company’s ideology of functional specialisation, wasn’t able to move to Brand marketing. So I left and joined Coca-Cola. There I was running MR, Media and Brand Marketing reporting to a boss who was heading all of Marketing and Operations, so the learning was huge. At a time when they split Marketing & Ops and bought another head for only Marketing, I moved on since my growth would get affected. I then set up a Marketing department at Star. Great learnings. One of them being that managing the Marketing of a Creative Product has different dynamics. I wasn’t happy with the reduced scope of Marketing and so moved on. Thereafter got a chance to head an agency, then the group, then another agency at a global level followed by which a chance to become an entrepreneur. The constant in this journey has been as I mentioned to constantly seek growth – learning and responsibility.

My career advice to others is that your reason for leaving your incumbent organisation needs to be much stronger than reason for joining the new one. Only when you can’t get the growth in your current place should you look for another. 

Q. These were also the good old days when media was low clutter and fragmentation. A few things from those golden years of advertising that you wish to see today? And one thing you believe to be a blessing in today’s landscape?

The old days were a nostalgia trip just like the old Guru Dutt movies. I don’t necessarily want them back. But what I remember from those days was the Nirma Media strategy of just 1 spot/ day on a PT slot on DD every day of the year ensured enough Reach and Frequency. Imagine an annual Media Plan of just 365 spots. Also in those days sponsorship built brands – Philips Top 10, Pepsi Ungal Choice, BPL Oye, Hero Honda SaReGaMa, Godrej presents Buniyaad. Now we have 4 co-sponsors and 9 associate sponsors and the entire magic of building brand values through a program has eroded. 

In today’s landscape the role of Media has widened hugely from being a distribution pipe to carry ads to building engagement, and even being a point of retail. Today Media truly is Marketing.

Q. Could you share a pivotal moment from your career that defined your leadership approach?

As per the Merril-Reid Personality types my leadership style is Driver – Expressive. I realised that only in the Agency world when I was leading a business. When I was practicing Research and Media I was an Analytic – Amiable. So styles change with circumstances not moments. 

Q. When you reflect on your career, what do you hope your legacy in the advertising industry will be?

I hope to have been successful in helping make effectiveness at least as important as efficiency in a world where advertisers are obsessed with cheap media over media that builds business

Q. What values or principles do you hope the next generation of leaders in advertising will carry forward?

Values are pretty constant, Integrity, Respect for the Individual, Passion, Innovation, Growth Mindset, Accountability. 

Q. If you had to title your autobiography, what would that be?

Bash on, regardless

Q. What do you think are the biggest challenges facing the Advertising industry in the next few years? 

Selling ourselves cheap and inability to attract good talent. 

Q. Lastly, with rapid advancements in AI, data analytics, and technology, what excites you most about the future of Advertising?

Principles of marketing will not change. Marketing will always be a Demand creation engine whose job is to get more consumers to buy more of your brands more often at a higher price. What will change are the methods of Marketing. Just like GenZ communication over phones has changed from voice to text, in Marketing, the practices of Targeting, Segmentation, developing creatives, Setting Media Planning goals, ways of deploying channels etc will all metamorphosise into unrecognisable avatars. The excitement will be to ride the crests of these waves.