Chetan Mahajan: A maverick’s journey to leadership and communications

In today’s PR & Corp Comm Luminaries series, we feature Chetan Mahajan, Founder & CEO at The Mavericks.

Chetan Mahajan is a visionary and transforming leader in the field of integrated communications, with over 20 years of experience in the industry. He is a maverick in the truest sense and the driving force behind The Mavericks, one of the most dynamic and fast-growing agencies in India today. He is known for his strategic thinking and innovative approach and has led large-scale communications mandates. He is a strategist at heart and a mentor by nature who has helped shape the voices of some of the country’s most influential CXOs, guiding them to manage and protect their brand reputation effectively.

Chetan’s leadership is characterized by a people-first approach that emphasizes empathy, support for professional growth, and a commitment to fostering strong, capable teams. His leadership style prioritizes empathy, collaboration, and personal growth, both for his teams and clients.

In this edition of Luminaries, we explore the exciting and challenging journey of Chetan Mahajan, which includes:

• His entry into the communications industry and early experiences
• His transition from a corporate leader to an entrepreneur
• Inception of The Mavericks and the early challenges he faced
• His contributions to social causes close to his heart
• Skills and habits that have contributed to his professional success
• Valuable lessons he has learned as a leader in PR and communications
• His vision for the future and plans for continued growth in the industry

His Entry into The Communications Industry and Early Experiences

Chetan was born and brought up in the small and exquisite town of Shimla, Himachal Pradesh.  He described the seventies and eighties as a time when traditional professions such as medicine, engineering, law, and chartered accountancy dominated the career landscape. These fields were widely regarded as the most stable and respectable career choices. Following the same trend, he initially pursued chartered accountancy after attempting to get into a top B-school for two years. 

However, “It was only after becoming a CA that I stumbled upon the world of PR. I got a job leading the finance team at 20:20 Media, then India’s top technology PR firm. That serendipitous opportunity became my window into the dynamic world of communications. Over time, I moved from finance to operations, HR, client servicing, and new business development—gradually transitioning into the world of strategic communications,” he elaborated describing his dynamic journey into the PR & Communications industry.

After joining 20:20 Media, his life transformed completely. He says, “At 20:20 Media, I had the privilege of working closely with two exceptional leaders—Sunil Agarwal and R Narayanan. Sunil led with heart, believing deeply in relationships and empowerment. Naru was the strategist—firm on numbers, performance, and bold thinking. 

The contrasting yet complementary styles of these two exceptional leaders shaped his leadership approach of leading with empathy, but never losing sight of performance. This foundation laid the path for everything that followed.

Inception of ‘The Mavericks’

Chetan dedicated a long span of 18.5 years, almost two decades to 20:20 Media. His journey at 20:20 Media includes several high-impact achievements and career-defining moments. Among his proudest accomplishments was onboarding dream clients such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Airbnb, and Netflix.

However, after its acquisition by MSLGROUP, he felt the need to change. Despite the prestige and momentum, he wanted to work on something more challenging that would reignite his passion and stretch his capabilities. So, he took a bold step and joined H&K Strategies, hopeful that the new environment would align with his evolving vision. However, that stint didn’t align with his values. “I was left with two choices: wait for another opportunity or create one. I chose the latter, drawing inspiration from Naru’s belief that life is a game best played boldly. That’s how Mavericks was born in 2018—anchored in a vision to create a place where both clients and people love to belong.” Mahajan shared, explaining the inception of his brainchild ‘Mavericks’.

Early Challenges he faced as a New Age Entrepreneur

Entrepreneurship is far from a cakewalk, and Chetan’s journey stands as a testament to that truth. When asked about the early challenges he faces as an entrepreneur, he mentioned, “The early days were hard but fulfilling. Entrepreneurship after 20 years of employment required a complete mindset shift. But I had clarity—our mission was to be a people-first, purpose-driven agency.” 

To distinguish Mavericks from the rest, he rejected the conventional model of regional offices. Instead, he empowered the idea of and operated as "one country, one team." 

He went further and streamlined the agency's operations by integrating verticals under a single SPOC (Single Point of Contact). He is also empowering his teams through progressive, people-centric practices such as light-touch policies, zero-day notice periods, and salary-on-demand frameworks. “Our culture was rooted in transparency, empathy, and equity. We positioned ourselves as an audience-first agency, investing heavily in understanding audience content behaviours. What set us apart was our belief: clients don’t hire us to know their business better, they hire us to tell their story better—and we do that exceptionally well,” he further underscored.

“We’ve cultivated a culture where people aren’t just employees—they are empowered owners. Our "no cold calling" approach, equity-based rewards, flat structure, and inclusive policies ensure that The Mavericks is more than an agency—it’s a movement,” Chetan highlights with conviction.

His contributions to social causes close to his heart

If there’s one social cause Chetan would love to contribute to, he says, it would be environmental conservation. “Until the pandemic, I didn’t associate strongly with a specific cause. But COVID-19 was a wake-up call. It made me realize how deeply we’ve harmed our environment,” he asserts. 

To contribute to the environmental conversation, he and his team lead a purposeful initiative. Since 2021, he has pledged to plant 100 trees per team member each year. To date, they’ve planted over 23,000 trees across India. Through this, he aims to rebuild a connection with nature, and restore the plantation we have lost and are losing because of the growing development.

Moreover, Chetan also supports education and innovation in communication. His team partnered with academic institutions like The Delhi School of Communication to launch the “Maverick of the Year” award. This initiative celebrates the spirit of integrated communication in young talent, encouraging students to think boldly and push boundaries.

Skills and habits that have contributed to his professional success

When asked about the skills or habits that have contributed to his achievements and progress so far, he humbly states that maintaining a balance between personal well-being, family, friendships, and continuous learning helped him in keeping him grounded through life’s many phases.

He is a dedicated lifelong learner and commits over 200 hours each year to reading, with a focus on both functional and leadership development. This habit not only sharpens his knowledge but also deepens his perspective. Furthermore, he believes that staying curious and adaptable helped him in navigating change and embracing growth.

Yet, above all the habits and skills, he believes the real source of his strength comes from the people around him. He credits the constant love and support of his wife, children, parents, friends, and teammates form a foundation that makes every step of the journey more meaningful. 

Lessons he learned as a PR and Communications leader

Chetan remarks, “Our life is an anthology of stories, and we are the storytellers. That’s the core of PR.” He further emphasized a few principles that guided him throughout his journey:

- Learn every day—curiosity keeps you relevant.

- Sell with empathy—whether it’s an idea or a pitch.

- Build relationships through value creation.

- Stay calm—especially during crises.

- Celebrate intrapreneurship—our team thrives when they’re free to create and lead.

- Our life is a story; it better be one worth listening to.  

His Future Plans

Chetan and his team are stepping confidently into the future by embracing the age of AI—not just with caution, but with genuine enthusiasm. They have redefined their vision and have set their eyes to build an AI-first agency where creativity and strategic thinking evolve and scale together. “Not just to adapt but to lead the change,” he believes. 

Under his leadership, the Mavericks is investing heavily in upskilling, training its people to become truly multi-disciplinary, fusing data fluency, design thinking, and compelling storytelling. The goal is to deliver disproportionate value in every engagement, not just keeping pace with change but setting the standard for what’s next. Simultaneously, they’re refining their digital and performance offerings, ensuring that high-impact communication becomes both measurable and more accessible to clients across industries. It’s about impact that can be tracked, celebrated, and continually optimized.

He illustrates that it is his dream to redefine the contours of modern PR by making it more agile, more humane, more creative, and deeply sustainable in its practices and outcomes.

Mahajan moves ahead with a collective ideology, “Clients don’t just need agencies—they need sherpas. Partners who can walk with them, axe through the ice, and carry the weight to reach the summit. “That’s not just a metaphor—it’s the Maverick mindset. A way of working that’s bold, empathetic, and relentlessly forward-looking,” he concludes.