Suhel Seth, Managing Partner, Counselage India
Suhel sits on the global advisory board of British Airways and on the regional boards of Citibank India, Coca Cola India, Star TV, Sixt Cars and Managing Partner of Counselage India.
Counselage is India’s only strategic brand management and marketing consultancy focused towards creating over-arching corporate reputation and respect. It works for Tata Steel, The Taj Group of Hotels, Vodafone, Hutchinson Whampoa, Coca Cola, Max New York Life, NDTV and American Express amongst others.
Suhel has several passions: he is a regular speaker at industry meets and is a lecturer at various Indian Institutes of Management. Suhel also writes provocative columns in The Asian Age, Business India, The Hindustan Times and The Indian Express on current affairs and the social landscape of India. Suhel has co-authored two books on Calcutta with Khushwant Singh and RK Laxman. Suhel was also keynote Speaker at the Indian Advertising Congress in 1998 and has been a speaker at all Marketing Summits organised by CII. He was the Chairman of the Marketing Summits for 2005, 2006 and 2007.
Suhel has published several papers on “The Changing Indian Consumer”; He has written extensively on the impact of advertising and its linkages to societal influences. In February 2002, Suhel’s first book “In your Face” was published. More recently, Suhel has been commissioned to write a book, tentatively titled “The Indian Mindset”: this will be the first Indian marketing book to be published by Penguin India. Suhel has just finished a book “Of roots and wings”: 50 years of Indian Airlines.
Suhel is an alumus of the AMP of Harvard Business School as also a member of the Harvard Business School Consultants Club. He is active on the Delhi theatre scene. He has acted in several plays and films (by Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen). He has represented India at the University of Oxford in Debating. He is also the Founder of both the Calcutta and the Delhi Debating Society and Concern for Delhi.
Suhel has been a past Rotary International Scholar as well as the Founder of the Rotaract and Interact Clubs in Calcutta. Suhel is on the Board of Advisors of Deepalaya and Neemrana Foundation. He has been nominated as a Trustee on the India Brand Equity Foundation: the apex body responsible for creating a vibrant Brand India.
Suhel is the Chairman of the National Marketing Committee of CII for 2008 – 2009.