Mike Khanna (Mohinder Kumar Khanna), worthy competitor, loyal friend. Loving husband, doting father. That is how I would sum up the man who dominated the advertising scene for over 20 years as the head of JWT. He stepped into the very large shoes of the legendary Subhas Ghosal and he filled those shoes with the ease of a seasoned player. We were competitors at the time, and envious of the dominant position JWT occupied in the hearts of its clients and the people who worked for it. Mike took it several steps further. But through all the kudos the agency received and the client wins that piled on to an already large business, Mike remained the quintessentially unassuming man. He never attracted attention to himself and he was rarely seen to flash his successes in the media. But in a quiet unmistakable way JWT’s reputation continued to gather ground under Mike’s leadership and became almost unassailable. I left for Singapore in 1984, the year Mike took charge of JWT. JWT was only slightly ahead of Ogilvy then. When I returned in 1993 to run Ogilvy I was amazed to find that JWT was four times our size. In nine years it had leapfrogged so far ahead that it appeared almost impossible that we would ever be able to catch up. Daunting!
I am fortunate to have been Mike’s contemporary. I say fortunate because while we were competitors from 9 to 5, we were friends from 5 to 9. I suspect in those days we still found time to leave our work rivalries behind us and meet as friends. Business was rarely discussed at such meetings and we simply enjoyed each other’s company and learnt to respect each other for what we were as people, not as advertising rivals working in a cut-throat environment where every pitch won or lost was a matter of life and death. Mike had a lot to do with that, of course, because he chose never to mix business with the pleasure of being with friends and stayed away from matters he felt should be left behind at the office.
While we have been seen as contemporaries in the industry, one little known fact is that I was once Mike’s client. In the early ’70s I had briefly left my agency to join HMM (now Glaxo SmithKline) as brand manager. HMM then was one of JWT’s largest clients. Mike was the Account Supervisor on our business and Ram Sehgal his Account Executive. It was then that I got really close to Mike. Our wives became close too and have remained the best of friends. I learned a lot from Mike in those days. We were a tough client and my boss, the Head of Marketing, a particularly demanding individual. It was admirable the way Mike handled him. He would be his charming self even in the face of a concerted onslaught from the boss and his smile would never leave him. I used to marvel at the way my boss would finally lose steam and come around to Mike’s way of thinking. His good-natured character always won.
Mike was a private person. He had struck a work-life balance that gave him time to devote to his family, while making sure he never disregarded his duties as head of the largest agency in the country. We longed for that balance ourselves but lacked the self discipline to achieve it. Mike was seen at industry parties because he saw it his duty to be there. Nothing more, nothing less.
Mike, you may have left us physically, but you will remain in our minds and hearts as someone we loved, admired and respected.
Ranjan Kapur is Country Manager, WPP India