Industry veterans mourn Anant Rangaswami’s death

Tributes and condolences poured in on social media.

Anant Rangaswami, advertising veteran and senior journalist, passed away on the morning of May 24 at the age of 61 years. He was unwell for sometime and died of kidney failure and other complications in a Bengaluru hospital. His death left the industry in shock and pain. Condolences started pouring in from industry executives.

Remembering ⁦@AnantRangaswami⁩.
What could be a better way of celebrating his memory than by trying to live up to his exhortation “Don’t Let Hate Win”? pic.twitter.com/Gq8cwRGpcq

— परितोष शून्य (@paritoshZero) May 24, 2022

An advertising professional, salesman, journalist, editor, event manager, he was a maverick and always on top of his game. A colleague & friend that I’ve known for over 3 decades, he was candid, outspoken, a fine big hearted human being. Will miss you dearly. #AnantRangaswamy💔🙏

— Raj Nayak (@rajcheerfull) May 24, 2022

No, @AnantRangaswami, it can't be true. My phone is going to ring and you will share some epiphany you just had. Or your blunt take on a trending topic. Or a passionate project you've embarked on. Go well, Anant.

— Ramki (@ramkid) May 24, 2022

Anant was one of a kind. He was generous with his time, his counsel, his influence. And he was generous with everyone. He called a spade a spade and a bad ad a bad ad. He lifted us and brought us back to the ground in equal measure. I'll miss you terribly @AnantRangaswami https://t.co/Jj5zS9fwUd

— Gautam (@gautxm) May 24, 2022

Rangaswami was the editor of Melt, an advertising and marketing magazine and portal. He was the founding editor of Campaign India and a senior editor at Firstpost. He has also served as the editor of CNBC TV 18’s Storyboard from 2013 to 2017. Before his journalism stint, Rangaswami was VP at TBWA between 1999 and 2004.

In his over two-decade-long career, he held roles at multiple media organisations, including Sony’s SET, STAR TV, Times FM, and BCCL’s Times Television.

He has also authored two books ‘Watching from the Sidelines’ and ‘The Elephants in the Room: The Future of Advertising in India’.

Most recently, he co-authored Open House, a book chronicling Piyush Pandey’s work, thought process, and more along with Pandey.