Mumbai: Mates founder and CEO Sooraj Bhalla has announced his decision to step down from his position. Under his leadership, the entertainment specialist unit of media agency Madison World emerged as a prominent name in the industry. 

Bhalla played a significant role in building the branded content and content marketing advertising vertical to its leadership position. His last day at Mates is 31 December.

“So far, my focus has been to work towards driving impact for clients and touch an emotive chord with consumers with the power of content and communication," said Bhalla. "In this next chapter of my professional life, I am looking forward to taking these years of rewarding experience with Mates and continue delivering value through the various channels of communication in the content space.” 

An alumnus of Jamnabai Narsee School, Bhalla spent his initial 10 years in creating content - direction and production, followed by fourteen years in content marketing, branded content, film marketing, celebrity management and solutions.

He has worked on blockbuster projects like "Andaz Apna Apna," "Damini," "Ghatak," and "Barsaat," having started his career as an assistant director to Rajkumar Santoshi. He was also the executive producer of Hindi feature film – "Shararat."

After procuring prolific experience in content production and direction, his first independent venture, TeamWorks focused on branded content, celebrity management & film marketing. It was eventually bought out by Sam Balsara to create Mates.

Bhalla has worked on more than 100 films from the country’s top producers and studios, being instrumental in delivering breakthrough communication with engaging content formats. He has won over 17 accolades in the advertising and media industry.