Remembering the legend Piyush Pandey: Lorraine Martin’s tribute

The advertising and communications fraternity is mourning the passing of one of its greatest visionaries - Piyush Pandey, whose creativity, warmth, and leadership shaped generations. His creative acumen and human warmth defined Indian advertising. Among the many whose lives he profoundly impacted is Lorraine Martin, former Corporate Communications Head of Ogilvy India.

She spent nearly three decades working alongside Piyush Pandey. For Lorraine, the news of his passing is deeply personal and marks not just the loss of an industry icon, but the departure of a mentor, colleague, and dear friend who shaped her professional journey in immeasurable ways.

Sharing their long association, Lorraine shares, “Piyush Pandey's humility, honesty, passion, humour and the complete trust he had in me will stay with me always. He treated me as an equal. Piyush seldom ‘talked down’ to colleagues, or for that matter, anyone. Someone once said, ‘to add value to others, one must first value others’, and this was Piyush. He was an exemplary leader. And he selflessly built and created leaders who he was confident would carry on his legacy. He created countless unforgettable accolades and milestones for Ogilvy in India and Worldwide.”

For Lorraine, her time at Ogilvy is inseparable from Piyush’s leadership. “I could not have had it any better in my professional journey that covered almost 3 decades with Piyush. He once said to me, 'Lorraine, if I don't retire, you don't retire.' And as it turns out, I retired at the end of June this year and now it seems his words have come to pass. I feel very privileged to have spent almost 3 decades with him,” she says.

As the industry remembers Piyush Pandey, Lorraine’s words capture the spirit of a man who redefined leadership not through hierarchy but through humanity.