Meet the CEOs: Moonfolks' Anish Daryani

Anish Daryani (pictured) never planned on a life in advertising - it began by chance, when a modelling career during college introduced him to the intensity of agency life. The spark quickly grew into a calling, and over the years, he has built a reputation as a leader who walks alongside his teams, believing every individual carries an inner spark waiting to be unlocked.

Today, Daryani is a Southeast Asian advertising veteran turned creative entrepreneur. His first venture led to the launch of M&C Saatchi Indonesia in 2018, which he later acquired and rebranded as Moonfolks in January 2024. Within a year, Moonfolks rose to become one of the region’s fastest-growing and most awarded agencies. In 2025, a media partnership with Havas saw Havas Indonesia rebranded as Havas Moonfolks, further cementing his agency’s influence.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE: What was your first job?

Modelling! It was my first year in college - St. Xavier’s College, Calcutta. I was returning from class when a group of people were picking out some students and asking them to wait. I was one among the few picked. They said they were from a modelling agency and were looking for fresh faces.

They made me an offer - they’d put me through a finishing course, shoot a portfolio, and if I got work through them, they’d take a commission. I asked them, how much would I be making? The response was a significant amount. A lot more than just pocket money for a college kid. Plus, I get to be famous! I pounced on the opportunity.

In my premier shoot itself, I had my first brush with the species they call “admen”. I was intrigued by the concept of “consumer insights” that was devised by a “planner” - a very nerdy face carried that title at the shoot. And then the “creative director” who thought his life depended on the outcome, and an “account director” who shadowed the client everywhere.

I was intrigued, and smitten by the energy of these folks. This the first spark that would grow into a burning desire to work in advertising.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE: What was your first role in advertising?

While I continued modelling assignments, of which I was getting very many, my interest in advertising kept growing. At 19, I stopped modelling and partnered with a couple of senior models to start our own modelling agency - Creations - my first entrepreneurial venture.

Now I had students and needed to find work for them. This made me visit all the agencies, of which I developed a deep fondness for Ogilvy, smitten by Ogilvy on Advertising, my first-ever book on advertising.

Shenaz Bapooji, the then management supervisor at Ogilvy & Mather, Calcutta (now Ogilvy, Kolkata), advised me to get some experience. In a heartbeat, I exited the business, leaving it in the safe hands of my more experienced partners, to get an internship at Inner Circle Advertising. It continues to be a reputed boutique creative agency in Kolkata. I received my induction in advertising through some great leaders like Kanchan Dutta and Sugato Guha. The day I finished my final year exams, I already had a job - advertising executive at Inner Circle.

Soon, I was to get my first big break in a large agency. I joined Ogilvy a few months later. It was the last appointment Shenaz made, before leaving for Ogilvy Bangalore. I remember, my handwritten resignation letter was totally smudged with my tears. I was leaving my safe haven, home for two years, to the big-bad-agency-world. Kanchan da and Sugato da let me go my way with a smile. They had all been through that journey themselves. They blessed me to go, learn and grow.

I consider Inner Circle as my Alma Mater - which taught me not just advertising, but also entrepreneurism. When I walked out of the agency, I knew I’d have my own agency some day.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE: What was your first impression of advertising?

My first impression of advertising continues to be the one I carry even today.

It’s the most fun you can have with your clothes on!

A lot of hard work. Long hours. Sleepless nights. Lots of learning. Teamwork. Team fights. Laughs. Tears. Orgasms through ideas. And passion that can’t be matched by anything else.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE: Who was the mentor who influenced you the most, and how?

I say, if you want to count your blessings, count your mentors. I’ve had mentors in different stages of my life and career, and so it would be unfair to name just one.

While growing up, my parents were great mentors, preparing me for life. My wife, Natasha, continues to be a life mentor, my go-to sounding board to help me seek answers to all of life’s riddles.

I’d count Shenaz, Kanchan Dutta and Sugato Guha as my early career mentors.

Mahesh ‘Mash’ Chauhan played a massive role in grooming me for senior management at Rediffusion-Y&R (now Rediffusion). In particular, when he was group CEO, and I worked under his tutelage when I moved to do a corporate role. My peers called me ‘trainee CEO’. He taught me what ‘big picture’ actually meant.

At Leo Burnett, Arvind Sharma taught me the business that advertising is. And Thomas Xavier taught me how to find purpose in everything I did - at work, and in life. 

Moray MacLennan, global CEO of M&C Saatchi, had a profound influence in my life, over the 6 years of being a business partner. He taught me to believe in belief. And the value of brutal simplicity in thinking.

Now, I have a mentor in Rana Barua, CEO of Havas for South Asia, Southeast Asia and North Asia. He too, like Moray, is a business partner. But is helping me find clarity in how to shape my career and life going forward.

At different moments in life, when I’ve felt stuck, these mentors came in like guides to help me chart a new path. And every now and then, I continue to fall back on their wisdom.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE: What’s the harshest criticism you’ve received, and how did you cope with it?

A very senior and talented senior copywriter colleague, in a fit of rage, perhaps on a bad day, told me I’d never make it in advertising. Sadly, he’s no more. It was the early days of my advertising career. But then, as a kid, proving him wrong became my strongest motivation, every single day.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE: Describe your own management style now as a leader

One common thread between all my mentors is to learn how not to manage people. Mentor them instead. I’m the kind of leader who doesn’t send the team forward with instructions. Nor do I lead them from the front. I walk with my team - every step of the way.

I believe in finding the right motivations in people, to get the best out of them. Every individual has a Hero-Gene. The job of a leader is to activate it. Then, they do the rest. Usually, that’s called magic.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE: What’s one thing you wished employees understood about being a leader?

Before you can lead, you must learn to follow.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE: What do you do during your free time?

I find passion in everything I do. So, I never have free time. But among my many passions, I do wildlife photography, mostly birds! I was born for two wheels… and taking my KTM Adventure on a spin is almost meditative. And when I’m not doing that, I meditate. Scuba diving is also something I just can’t have enough of.

With all these fantastic experiences, I have many stories to tell. So I write. And am penning my first book.

I believe I must give back to society and industry. So I have taken on the responsibility of leading India Indonesia Chamber of Commerce (IndCham), and sit on the Boards of British Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia (BritCham) and Indonesia Indah Foundation, an NGO working towards creating a plastic-free and sustainable future for Indonesia.

But doting on my daughters, our pet poodle, and spending time with family and friends is what I enjoy dearly.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE: Where do you find your inspiration?

In life. In people. In nature. In stories.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE: If not in advertising, where would you be?

I grew up with dreams of joining the Indian Army. My parents encouraged me to play all kinds of sports - track and field, cricket, football, rugby, table tennis, martial arts - to aid my physical development. Until myopia struck. Then somewhere in-between aeronautical engineering (to design fighter jets) and modelling, advertising happened!

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE: What advice do you have for someone looking to start a career in the industry?

Come into this industry, only if you have passion for it. It can be extremely unforgiving. You’ll have patches when each day is worse than the last one, despite you bringing your A-game to the table. It’s only because of the passion that you’ll bounce out of bed the next morning, ready to take on your adversaries. Only to realise that it was all worth it, when success falls at your feet.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE: What issue would you like to see the industry change in 2025?

The advertising industry is not attracting the best talent, especially the newbies. They’d rather be in a tech startup, than suck up to an industry that tests you in every way.

However, this is the only industry where you don’t really have a business - because everyone else’s business becomes your business. You could start your morning consulting a bank, move to FMCG, do tech consulting post lunch, guide the tourism minister over a sundowner, and end up having dinner with a business tycoon, all in a day’s work.

Advertising creates holistic learning because in the shortest amount of time, we learn to crack the DNA of multiple businesses, to enable them to make money, or even solve world problems.

This is why, I believe, advertising creates multi-dimensional personalities, some of the smartest people on the planet.

It’s time to make advertising cool again. And 2025 is late already.

Digital Marketing Asia returns to Jakarta on 15 October, bringing the hottest trends, tech, and insights to future-proof your strategies. Network with 150+ industry leaders, discover cutting-edge tools, and learn from real-world case studies – all designed to propel your brand growth. Don't miss this chance to stay ahead of the curve!

Related articles:
Meet the CEOs: TBWA\​ Group Indonesia's Soum Banerjee
Meet the CEOs: DDB Group Philippines' Gil G. Chua
Meet the CEOs: Hakuhodo HK's Yoshinori Mitomi