Sachi Mukerji, who was one of MMAC’s founders, passed away after a brief illness on the 14th of May 2026. As a tribute, his fellow co-founders and the current board of MMAC have decided to create an In Memoriam page to remember Sachi’s life and his achievements. This is a living document. As colleagues, friends and employees from the world of multicultural marketing send in their memories of Sachi, they will be added to this page.

A connection that lasted decades

If there were three things that would instantly evoke memories of Sachi, they would be: first, the essence of a true adman; second, a thorough gentleman with a penchant for the finer things in life and a spirit of culinary adventurism; and third, his deep love of culture — from the Irish soulfulness of Van Morrison to the creative genius of Bengali writers and filmmakers.

From my very first professional encounter with Sachi, when he lectured the Advertising Course Class of 1978 in Calcutta, India — the class from which I graduated — it was admiration at first sight. He was the adman all of us students aspired to become: a young creative superstar and probably the youngest National Creative Director of what was then the second-largest advertising agency in India. Today, we would have called him one of India’s original maverick “Mad Men.”

When Sachi left India in the early 1980s for greener pastures in Australia, the Middle East, the UK, and eventually Canada — where he was headhunted — he left behind a trail that many outstanding creatives would follow.

Sachi was the first person from my earlier professional life whom I reconnected with after arriving in Canada in 1994. We had both worked, at different times, under the same boss in India. Although we never worked together directly, we maintained a close relationship over the years, sharing personal memories and professional conversations alike.

I remember vividly, back in 2007, when Sachi had completed his journey through the large network agencies and had just launched UpsideDown Communications, which later evolved into Monsoon. We spoke at length about the opportunities that multicultural marketing would bring.

Over the years, we visited each other’s homes, met for lunch every couple of months, and exchanged notes several times a week. The last WhatsApp message I forwarded to him was on the very day he passed away.

My enduring memory of Sachi will always be that of the quiet, dapper gentleman of advertising

Ishan Ghosh, MMAC Cofounder and CEO (retd.) of Barrett and Welsh

“Save it for my obit.”

That was Sachi’s response when I excitedly showed him this portrait I’d made of him with a little help from my AI friends. He looked at it, gave that sideways smile of his, slightly embarrassed by the attention, and dismissed it with a wave of the hand, but not before staring at it just a second longer than he intended to.

That was Sachi Mukerji.

Many of you will remember him for his work as an advertising colossus, who bestrode continents, boardrooms and industries with such ease. But I remember him differently. In quieter, more human colours.

I remember the man who covered his frailty with that crisp British voice and impeccable timing. Clients lapped it up.

The foodie who believed almost nothing in life couldn’t be sorted out over a long lunch at Merlot on Bloor, his favourite, or over dosa, sambhar, chutney and filter coffee at the little place near his house. My God, he loved that coconut chutney.

I remember one of my earliest meetings with him: Sachi and Sue meeting me on Brown’s Line for coffee. Winter 2007. The warmth, the ease, the feeling that you’d somehow known them far longer than you actually had.

And Sue, whom he adored. Deeply. Entirely. Never letting her go, except at the very end, when he had nothing left to give.

For all his towering reputation, Sachi shunned the limelight. I once wrote an academic piece describing his legendary status in the industry. He read it, made a few corrections, then changed the subject quickly. Praise embarrassed him.

But this picture? This one he loved.

Perhaps because it captured him the way he secretly saw himself: layered, imperfect, brilliant, playful, thoughtful, vulnerable. All his varied hues bleeding together like watercolour.

He was also gloriously impossible. Stubborn as a mule 🙂

This was a man who refused to retire.
Who spoke about learning to ice-skate on his 90th birthday as though it were the most natural thing in the world. (Alas, 90 was still a long way off.)
Who would shed tears at will, simply to heighten the drama.
Who loved Monsoon Communications Inc., his baby.
A man whose greatest wish, beneath all the bravado and brilliance, was simply to be recognized for his creative vision.

His only request of me was beautifully, heartbreakingly simple:
“Ben, let’s win an award.”

One of his final sentences to me was:
“Ben, when the dust settles, let’s get a dosa at our place.”

And somehow that sentence now carries the weight of an entire friendship.
So I’ll raise a cup of sambhar and chutney to you, my friend.
To the lunches that ran too long.
To the music—Peter Ciccotti and Van Morrison.
To the crazy (now, silly) arguments.
To the impossible stubbornness. To the laughter. To writing with good pens.

To the obit you pretended not to believe in, but quietly created around everyone lucky enough to know you.

Goodbye, Sachi.

And thank you for all the colours.

Ben Borges, MMAC member, VP Client Services, Monsoon Communications