Home / About us / Board of Directors / Mr. Suneel Gautam
Mr. Suneel Gautam
Non-Executive Director
A chartered accountant by training, Suneel started his career at a multinational bank. His heart, however, lay elsewhere. In 1985, he co-founded CLEA Advertising & Marketing which went on to become India’s seventh largest advertising firm by the mid-1990s with more than 400 staff across 20 locations. Clea was also the largest and most reputed financial communication and IPO specialist firm in India. In 1995, Clea PR was set up which then quickly grew into the No 1 PR firm by 1998.
In his mid-40s, Suneel's entrepreneurial bug bit him again and he founded Hanmer & Partners, a full-service integrated communications firm in 1999. From a handful of people and an office of 250 square feet, it became India’s largest and most reputed PR firm. When Hanmer & Partners joined Publicis Groupe in autumn 2007, the firm already had 350+ staff across 8 locations. The firm later got rebranded to Hanmer MSL and then MSLGROUP. Suneel moved into an emeritus role at the start of 2011 after seeing the firm through the integration with Publicis Groupe.
In 2008, Suneel set up India's first art fair, called India Art Summit.
In January 2015, in true spirit of being a serial entrepreneur, Suneel co-founded India's first Strategic Consultancy with a focus on communication called Pitchfork Partners Strategic Communications LLP.
With 35 years of experience and now in his early 60s, Suneel refuses to rest on his laurels.