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The Mavericks
The Mavericks rose from Chetan Mahajan's departure from global agency networks in an era of expanding Indian brand consciousness. With a 25-year career...
The Mavericks
The Mavericks rose from Chetan Mahajan's departure from global agency networks in an era of expanding Indian brand consciousness. With a 25-year career spanning President & CEO of H+K Strategies India and Co-Managing Director of MSLGROUP India, Mahajan built a communications advisory designed to collapse the wall between external agency counsel and in-house marketing execution. The firm's proposition ties its own reputation directly to client outcomes, which shapes how it selects mandates. The firm deploys across integrated campaign management, strategic brand consulting, public relations, digital marketing and CXO thought leadership. Client evidence spans consumer technology, FMCG and lifestyle: Mahajan's mandate history includes Xiaomi, OnePlus, Airbnb, Alibaba, VW, Sony, and Times Network. Case studies on the firm's website highlight positioning work for Third Wave Coffee's national rollout and heritage rebranding for Lavazza in India. The Mavericks operates from five Indian cities and explicitly markets multi-channel execution backed by analytics and performance measurement. The team lists 65 professionals, with four named Business Directors & Partners carrying significant client-relationship ownership. Smriti Raghunandan runs mandates across education, fintech and technology; Mitali Darbari Prakash anchors technology, healthcare and lifestyle accounts; Archana Thomas leads programs for Wipro, Ultraviolette Automotive and Embassy Group. In July 2023, the firm's website summarized headcount at 65-plus across five cities. No recent landmark deal or fund closing has been publicly disclosed in the last 24 months. The structural distinction lies in the hybrid consulting-embedded model. Most communications firms are either retainer-based outside counsel or fully dedicated in-house teams. The Mavericks prices its reputation-equity pitch by promising to function as an organization's extended marketing department while retaining the objectivity of an advisor. That architecture sits between the agency-of-record model used by Edelman and BCW (where Darbari Prakash and Thomas trained) and the in-house communications units inside Wipro or Xiaomi.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
—
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
Asia
Country
India
City
New Delhi
Corporate office
New Delhi, India
Additional offices
Mumbai · Bengaluru · Chennai · Kolkata
Principals
Chetan Mahajan
Founder and CEO
Smriti Raghunandan
Business Director & Partner
Mitali Darbari Prakash
Business Director & Partner
Archana Thomas
Business Director & Partner
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who leads The Mavericks and what agency background do they come from?
Chetan Mahajan founded the firm after serving as President & CEO of Hill+Knowlton Strategies India, a WPP company, and Co-Managing Director of MSLGROUP India under Publicis. Three Business Directors — Smriti Raghunandan, Mitali Darbari Prakash, and Archana Thomas — carry partner-level ownership, each arriving from large network agencies including Genesis BCW, Edelman, Burson, and 20:20 MSL.
What does the hybrid consulting-plus-extended-team model mean in practice?
The firm positions itself as both an exclusive external consultancy and an embedded extension of the client's marketing team. The model promises business-critical counsel without the distance of a traditional agency-of-record, while avoiding the fixed-cost structure of an in-house communications department.
Which industries does The Mavericks serve?
Named clients and case studies span consumer technology (Xiaomi, OnePlus, Wipro), automotive (VW, Ultraviolette Automotive), hospitality and CPG (Third Wave Coffee, Lavazza, United Breweries), education (Plaksha University, Klay Schools), and real estate (Embassy Group). The firm carries no publicly stated sector exclusions.
How is The Mavericks different from Edelman, BCW or MSL in India?
Founding principals were trained inside those global networks but structured The Mavericks to compete on reputation equity: the firm ties its own credibility to client outcomes and markets itself as an accountability play. It does not operate as a multi-national subsidiary and does not disclose revenue or scale data that would place it in tier-one rankings.
Does The Mavericks operate any investment vehicle or take equity positions in client companies?
No public disclosure suggests the firm takes balance-sheet equity stakes or operates a venture arm alongside its advisory business. The firm's revenue model appears to be fee-for-service communications consulting.
What is The Mavericks' geographic footprint for client mandates?
The firm lists offices in five Indian cities — New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Kolkata — and its client mandates are primarily India-facing consumer and enterprise brands. No international office or cross-border campaign capability has been publicly disclosed.
How is The Mavericks governed and who holds partner-level authority?
Chetan Mahajan holds the Founder and CEO title with four named Business Directors & Partners — Smriti Raghunandan, Mitali Darbari Prakash, Archana Thomas, and a fourth portfolio lead. No external board, outside investors or succession plan has been publicly disclosed.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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