YAAP founder Atul Hegde passes away

New Delhi: Atul Hegde, Founder, Chairman and Managing Director of YAAP Digital, passed away on Tuesday morning after suffering a heart attack. He was 57. Hegde was among the more visible entrepreneurial leaders in India’s digital advertising and marketing ecosystem. Over more than two decades in media, advertising and technology-led marketing, Hegde worked across agency building, digital transformation, content, influencer marketing and investment. He founded YAAP in 2016 and co-founded Rainmaker Ventures in 2015, an investment platform focused on technology-led ventures. Before building YAAP, Hegde held leadership and senior roles across the digital and advertising ecosystem, including Ignitee Digital Solutions, Havas and Vyas Giannetti Creative. YAAP grew into an integrated digital marketing and technology company with operations across India and overseas markets. In recent years, the agency positioned itself around content, technology, influencer marketing, performance, design and data-led communication. His passing comes at a time when YAAP was expanding its listed-company journey and building its position as an independent marketing network. Within the industry, Hegde was seen as part of the generation that helped shape India’s digital advertising transition from early online campaigns to more integrated, platform-led and technology-led marketing models.