Ranjan was born in 1942, the year the Quit India movement was started, but the full import of its meaning dawned on him several years later when as a young intern at S H Benson (Ogilvy & previous avatar), he saw his expatriate bosses face expulsion threats from a highly trenchant and well organized union. They finally left in the late sixties, leaving the agency in the hands of Indian managers.
The departure of expats from Benson and JWT also left a management vacuum that was filled by very young talent. Ranjan benefited from this as he rose to a board position before his 30th birthday.
Ranjan also led the return of the Indian expatriate in the early nineties when he returned from a longish stint in the Far East to lead Ogilvy for the next ten years and to its leadership position. That Ogilvy became Indias most celebrated agency and continues to remain so, is largely attributed to Ranjans ability to identify and empower people to take it to greater and greater heights. He stepped down as Chairman of Ogilvy in 2003 and passed the baton on to the very people he helped empower during his tenure as its CEO.
Ranjan is now supposedly retired with a Country Manager & assignment with WPP, board memberships with blue chip corporates and EXCO membership of The Indian Cancer Society and Bombay First,