President & CEO, Singapore

Area Director, South & South-East Asia

Executive Vice-President Asia-Pacific, McCann Worldgroup

Sorab Mistry graduated from St. Stanslaus HS in 1967

Career Profile: Sorab Mistry’s career spans 32 years in International business working from bases such as Canada, United Kingdom, India, United Arab Emirates and Singapore. Born in India and a Canadian citizen, he has served on significant industry Boards of Directors, is a guest lecturer at several leading universities and is a recipient of the “Arch of India Gold Award” for achievement in International business.

McCann Worldgroup

McCann Worldgroup is comprised of McCann Erickson Worldwide, the world’s largest advertising agency network with operations in 132 countries, as well as a portfolio of specialized marketing companies: Universal McCann (media planning/buying; communications architecture); MRM Partners (direct/customer relationship management; on-line marketing communications through Zentropy); Momentum (event marketing, sponsorship, sales promotion); and Torre Lazur McCann (healthcare communications). In addition, the Worldgroup collaborative offering includes alliances with Future Brand (consulting/design) and Weber Shandwick (public relations) through The Interpublic Group of Companies.

Career Chronology: Sorab was born and brought up in Bombay.In 1973, he graduated with a degree in Economics and Statistics from St. Xavier’s College, Bombay, after which he immediately joined McCann-Erickson Advertising in Tehran, Iran, as a Management Trainee. In 1975, Sorab was sent to McCann-Erickson London for further management training. On completion, he returned to Iran and rose to be a key member of the Management team in charge of several multi-national accounts, such as Coca-Cola, General Motors, and Nestle. In 1979, following the coup in Iran, he was transferred to McCann-Erickson London in charge of General Motors and Coca-Cola. In December 1979, Sorab immigrated to Toronto, Canada, where he has made his permanent home and became a Canadian citizen. From 1980–1982, Sorab studied at the Institute of Canadian Advertising and graduated as a Certified Advertising Agency Practitioner (CAAP). Also, during this period from 1980-90, Sorab worked with J. Walter Thompson in Toronto, Canada. He started on the Pepsi Cola account and held a series of management positions, finally as Senior Account Director in charge of the Unilever business. In 1990, Sorab returned to McCann-Erickson in Toronto as Vice President in charge of Coca-Cola in Canada. In February 1993, he was transferred to India as Executive Vice President of the joint venture, to open up a new operation in Bombay to lead the launch of Coca-Cola into India. In March 1994, he was appointed Senior Vice President for Asia Pacific. In March 1995, Sorab was appointed the first President and Chief Executive Officer of the newly established McCann-Erickson, India. In 1997, McCann-Erickson India was declared “Agency of the Year” amongst all offices in the network’s Asia Pacific Region. In April 1998, Sorab was appointed Area Director, South Asia, comprising India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal and elected Executive Vice President of Asia-Pacific. In December 1998, Sorab was appointed Chairman of the Company in India. In September 2002, Sorab moved his base offshore to Dubai, U.A.E.

In June 2003, Sorab was promoted to extend his responsibilities as Area Director of South and South-East Asia and relocate to Singapore. His area of responsibility now comprises Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, India, Philippines, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Pakistan & Bangladesh.

In May 2004, McCann-Erickson India was again declared “Agency of the Year” amongst all offices in the network’s Asia Pacific Region and an independent survey by the Economic Times showed that McCann-Erickson India was voted the 2^nd most Admired Agency.

In terms of professional memberships, Sorab was on the Board of Governors of the Media Research Users Council; Chairman of the Advertising Effectiveness committee of the Advertising Club of Bombay; Chairman, education committee of the Advertising Agencies Association of India; Immediate past President of the Indian chapter of the Association of International Advertising Agencies; was on the consumer goods committee of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Most recently been appointed as the President of IAA, Singapore and on the World Board, IAA. Also, the Chairman of the Effectiveness Awards (Effie), Singapore. Additionally, throughout his career, Sorab has been a guest lecturer at York University, University of Toronto, at various Management schools in India and most recently in Dubai and Singapore.

In terms of Career training, Sorab has been selected to participate in numerous Management courses throughout his career, the most recent being the, “Change Readiness workshop” in Lisbon, Portugal in the Spring 2002.

In July 1998, Sorab was honoured with the “Arch of India Gold Award” in London, at the Indo-British Partnership Meeting; these awards are for persons of Indian origin, who have excelled in their chosen field at the International level.

In terms of Personal interests, Sorab has studied various Languages, Music, Photography, Art, Wines, Chess, Yoga, Meditation, Fitness & Nutrition, Flying and has travelled widely across all the continents.

And in the midst of all these professional & personal activities, Sorab is pre-occupied with being a great friend to the greatest pride & joy of his life, his 25 year old daughter Shayda, who lives in Toronto.