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Piyush Pandey’s passing: ‘He taught me to keep things simple’, says Tata Play’s Harit Nagpal
Tata Play Ltd MD & CEO Harit Nagpal saidPiyush Pandey’s authenticity and clarity redefined how he approached leadership and creativity.
Tata Play’s Harit Nagpal, "Piyush Pandey taught me the power of simplicity"
Following the passing of India’s advertising icon Piyush Pandey on Friday, Tata Play Ltd MD & CEO Harit Nagpal shared a deeply personal tribute to the veteran, crediting him with changing how he viewed people and communication.
“I would be in awe of people who used big-big words and made complex flow charts to explain human behaviour,” Nagpal wrote. “Then I met Piyush Pandey and realized that humans, both consumers and colleagues, are easy-going people who are looking for someone to make things simple for them. I now seek people who I can understand in the first attempt.”
Nagpal said Pandey’s authenticity and clarity redefined how he approached leadership and creativity.
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He joins several industry leaders who have expressed profound grief at Pandey’s demise and reflected on his unparalleled influence.
Asian Paints MD & CEO Amit Syngle called Pandey “the architect who helped us find the enduring soul of our brand,” while Nestlé India Chairman Manish Tiwary said he “brought the real, raw, and rustic Bharat onto India’s screens — unapologetically.”
Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra remembered Pandey for his warmth and humanity. “He reminded us that even in the serious business of persuasion, joy and humanity must never be forgotten… Piyush always carried that summer within him.”
Yes, he was a man who left gigantic footprints on the ad industry…
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) October 24, 2025
But what I will remember most is not the campaigns he crafted or the brands he built, but his hearty laugh and his irrepressible zest for life.
He reminded us that even in the serious business of persuasion,… pic.twitter.com/6C1SJHwFH6
Uday Kotak, Gautam Adani, and several other leaders also paid tribute, describing Pandey as a storyteller who gave Indian advertising its distinctive cultural confidence.
Pandey’s funeral will be held on Saturday, October 25, at 11 a.m. at Shivaji Park Crematorium in Mumbai.
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