Chartered accountant-turned-advertising professional and vice president of The World Out of Home Organization (WOO) Numazar Mehta’s four decades in the advertising industry were recognized with the conferring of honorary lifetime membership of the Organization at their annual congress in Hong Kong in June 2024. Among the WOO stalwarts present at the event were president Tom Goddard and former president Antonio Vincenti.
Calcutta based Mehta has been chairman of the outdoor advertising company Selvel One Group since 2013 and serves as senior trustee at Calcutta Zoroastrian Community’s Religious and Charity Fund, the apex body for community members in the eastern city. Out-of-home (OOH) advertising includes billboards and posters seen while on the go.
Popularly known as Noomi, "he was the first member of the board of directors from Asia… He participated in formulating policies and giving guidance to the executive committee,” stated a note from his wife Prochy who informed Parsiana of this accolade. The recognition has reportedly been bestowed upon only three others since WOO’s precursor, the Federation European Publicite Exteriur was founded in Paris in 1959.
Numazar Mehta (center) with Tom Goddard (l) and Antonio Vincenti
Numazar "pioneered large format printing, revolutionizing how outdoor advertising communicates with the public.” He was responsible for a unique "proposal for constructing street furniture for Calcutta free of cost in exchange for advertising rights… He not only constructed the signal system for the traffic police, he also had to employ security guards to protect this novel concept.” Selvel One services high-profile clients like Pepsi and Coca-Cola.
Numazar has been responsible for strategic negotiations leading to Citibank’s investment in Selvel One between 1997 and 2000. "Noomi was invited to Singapore by Barings Bank to make a presentation (on his business). He found he was dealing with a fund headed by Barings Bank which had the Singapore government as an investor. They were extremely appreciative of the opportunity but were wary of the enforcement of the rules and laws in India and finally shelved the idea. He later met with (investment bankers) Jardine Fleming and they were excited by the proposal. Citibank quickly joined up with Jardine Fleming to invest in Selvel One. Unfortunately, Jardine found themselves overinvested in Asia at that time and balked at completing the deal during the Asian economic meltdown.” Reportedly, Citibank however remained interested and were most insistent, though by that time Numazar was reluctant.
A sports enthusiast, Numazar has presided over the Indian Rugby Football Union and the Bengal Hockey Association. Now, having stepped down as president, he is a mentor, patron and advisor. He has been associated with the Calcutta Cricket and Football Club (president in 2007-08 for two years) and the Cricket Association of Bengal (serving on its apex committee).
Set up as Selvel Syndicate in 1945 by Rusi Gimi, Prochy’s father, as a pioneering outdoor advertising company, the Selvel One Group now provides advertising and consultancy services, conducts sports and live events, and is into real estate development.
WOO is the only global out-of-home association working to promote and improve the industry on behalf of its members. Board members include the major international companies including Selvel One.