Amsterdam: When you get a guy like Sir Martin Sorrell to keynote, you can expect to get some statements. That’s exactly what Sir Martin made at IBC 2016, the audiovisual equipment industry’s annual European get together at the RAI Exhibition Centre in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Sir Martin Sorrell waxed eloquent about Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Said he: “Modi has made an incredible difference. I don’t know what is with these guys whose second part of their name begins with the M initial. Modi. Argentina’s Macri. They all have done a..Merkel. May (Britain’s new prime minister) maybe.”

He went on to state that India has supplanted Brazil for the WPP group. “India is very important. We have 50 per cent of the market. We are interested in India because of its population size, GDP growth and also the young population’s growth. Then, the intellectual firepower in India is really strong. If you look at India 25 years hence, and it is going to become even more important. And then there’s the Muslim population. The third biggest Muslim population, probably going to get even bigger.”

Sorrell also praised the talent he has in India. “Our people are outstanding. People like Srini, Piyush, Ranjan, Tarun, they are absolutely outstanding people. If you could export them from India, or if we had the same quality of people around the world, I could retire,” he said.

“I only own two per cent of the company; but I am identified with the company,” he responded to a question whether he would retire. “I will carry on as long they will let me. WPP is not a matter of life or death for me, it is more than that. They will carry me out to the glue factory.”