Webchutney and Punt Partners' Founder, Sidharth Rao passes away

He was the Co-Founder of Webchutney and martech company Punt Partners. He passed away at 43 suffering from a cardiac arrest.

Sidharth Rao, Co-Founder of Webchutney and martech company Punt Partners is no more. He passed away at 43 on Friday evening, suffering from a cardiac arrest.

In a statement on Rao's untimely demise, Punt Partners shared, "It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our friend and founder, Sidharth Rao. He suffered a fatal cardiac arrest on the 21st of April at his home in Karjat. Sid's sudden demise has left us all in shock, and and we request everyone's time to grieve the loss of our beloved friend, son, brother, husband and colleague. Sid's family is especially thankful for all the condolences and messages of support during this time."

Rao started Webchutney with Sudesh Samaria in 1999, and remained with the company for 23 years. Under his leadership, the agency has worked with brands and companies including Flipkart, Google, Uber, Swiggy, WeWork, Ikea, Under Armour, Airtel, Tata Sons, and Whirlpool amongst others. In 2013, Webchutney was acquired by Dentsu Aegis Network.

Dentsu Webchutney was the most-awarded Indian agency at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in 2019. After the acquisition of Webchutney by dentsu, he was the CEO of the company. 

In January 2020, he became the Chairman of dentsu’s creative agency Happy mcgarrybowen (HMB) India and Dentsu Webchutney. Rao was given the additional responsibility of Group CEO of the dentsuMB Group in June 2021 as part of dentsu’s creative, digital and PR services restructuring.

In May 2022, he quit dentsuMB and launched Punt Partners along with the entrepreneur Madhu Sudhan. Rao served on the jury of some of the most celebrated advertising festivals in India and around the globe.

Rao also wrote a book titled, "How I almost blew it" capturing many nuances that go behind launching a start-up.

Industry folks remember him and offer their condolences.

lost a very dear friend. go well @sidharthrao 😢
have no words how much he meant to me :(

— Anand Jain (@helloanand) April 21, 2023