Pradeep Guha, managing director of 9X Media, formerly president of Times of India Group and a former member of the board of directors of BCCL, also former CEO of Zee Entertainment, passed away after a late diagnosis of cancer and a short battle in hospital earlier today.

That’s a short bio of Pradeep Guha; but the tale of his deeds is much longer than that.

Pradeep Guha was not a tall man; but he walked tall.

Ostensibly, he was a media person, being responsible for building Times Response, the ad sales arm of the Times of India Group’s publications, into a formidable sales force.

Response was very different to the ad sales arms of other newspapers of the time; much before we spoke of gender balance and gender pay parity, Pradeep’s army of salespeople was almost equally comprised of men and women – at all levels. And the women in his force enjoyed both power and equal pay.

His team prided themselves on being smartly turned out; well equipped with an understanding of media planning and buying; and confident that ‘boss’ (as Pradeep was known to most in his team) would back them on tough negotiations.

It was under Pradeep that BCCL created the wall-building strategies of ‘invitation pricing’ (that allowed BCCL to keep the prices to the consumer lower than the variable costs involved in producing the publications) and ‘Mastermind’, the complex rate card that encouraged advertisers to buy space in marginal editions and publications at enticing prices (which were profitable to BCCL).

But more than selling space, Pradeep’s contribution was to build the Brand — Brand Times of India Group – and the other brands – Femina Miss India, Filmfare Awards, the Bombay Times Annual Party, Femina Look of the Year, all ‘properties’ that built the individual brands and the group.

He was also responsible for his unqualified support for good advertising; during his watch, Times of India TV commercials were a part of popular culture, especially the ‘A Day in the Life of India’ campaign.

And then there were the ‘lateral’, almost surrogate, properties that he was a critical part of. His role in the India editions of Ad Asia, his role in the IAA’s resurgence in the past few years and his unstinted support, in the late 1990s and early 2000s, to the Ad Club and the AAAI, were largely due to his professional and personal interests in advertising and media. If BCCL is all but married at the hip to the Cannes Lions, it is largely due to Pradeep’s involvement.

It is easy to dismiss him as a media person and media professional; but his involvement, role and support to both Femina Miss India and the Filmfare Awards played significant roles in building MANY industries – beauty, modelling, Bollywood. Even Page 3, as a culture in metro India, could easily be attributed to his interest in the lifestyles of the rich and famous,

It was the Femina Miss India show – and Pradeep’s keen interest in the concept of the show – that led to India’s successes at Miss World and Miss Universe.

Today, as we learn of his passing away, many individuals will slowly understand how deep a void he leaves; many industry bodies and organisations will feel orphaned.

He was a leader of men, and many who reported directly to him have moved on to head competitive sales teams and other organisations.

Despite his average height, he always stood out in a crowd – like his preferred drink, Campari.

Here’s to you, PG. May you rest in peace.