AAAI announces a new-look, more diverse Board for 2026–27

The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) has announced a new-look Board for 2026–27, bringing together a broader mix of independent agencies, regional businesses, creative leaders and major advertising and media networks.

Dr Sandeep Goyal, President, representing Rediffusion Brand Solutions, and Jaydeep Gandhi, Vice-President, representing Another Idea, the Board reflects the breadth of India’s advertising industry and a commitment to giving agencies of different sizes, specialisations and geographies a stronger voice in shaping its future.

Independent agencies are represented this year by Punit Batra of Ratan Batra Pvt Ltd, Sunil Chhabra of Pamm Advertising, Hemendra Parekh of 3 Bros & Fils, Devang M. Gandhi of Navnitlal & Co, and Anjan Chatterjee of Situations Advertising & Marketing, together with Vice-President Jaydeep Gandhi of Another Idea. They join established regional players represented by Priyanka Chatterjee of Standard Publicity, K Srinivas of Sloka Advertising, C Muthu of Maitri Advertising and Kunal Lalani of Crayons Advertising, bringing broader entrepreneurial perspectives and market experience to AAAI’s deliberations. Anjan Chatterjee, co-opted onto the Board, has combined a successful advertising career with building celebrated restaurant brands such as Oh! Calcutta and Mainland China, adding a distinctive perspective on entrepreneurship, brand building and consumer experience.

The Board also welcomes leading advertising veterans Josy Paul of BBDO India & Amitesh Rao of Orchard Advertising, strengthening its creative and strategic expertise, while Lalatendu Das of Leo Burnett adds to its media capabilities.

Continuity and institutional experience remain central to the new Board, with senior industry leaders Srinivasan K. Swamy of R K Swamy, Sam Balsara of Madison Communications, Prasanth Kumar of WPP Media, Vishandas Hardasani of Matrix Publicities & Media India, Dheeraj Sinha of FCB Ulka Advertising, Hephzibah Pathak of Ogilvy & Mather, Santosh Kumar of Innocean Worldwide Communication, Tanya Goyal of Everest Brand Solutions, Ajit Varghese of Platinum Advertising, Kartik Sharma of Omnicom Media,  Mohit Joshi of Havas Media, and Anupriya Acharya of Publicis Communications continuing their association with AAAI.

Shashi Sinha and Vikram Sakhuja join as Special Invitees, bringing additional experience and insight to the Association’s work.

Leading full-service agencies, including Ogilvy, Rediffusion, Innocean and Saatchi & Saatchi, continue to be represented on the Board. The Board also draws on the expertise of major media businesses, including WPP Media, Omnicom Media, Havas Media, Publicis Media and Madison Communications.

Commenting on the new Board, Dr Sandeep Goyal, President, AAAI, said: “Our new Board brings together the experience of established industry leaders, the energy of independent entrepreneurs and some of the finest talent in advertising. We want AAAI to reflect the full diversity of our industry and ensure that independent agencies have a stronger voice and greater opportunities to participate. In the coming week, we will announce some interesting new initiatives across creative, media and AI and technology, with a special focus on independent agencies.”

The broader representation is intended to strengthen collaboration across the industry and inform AAAI’s work on talent development, business growth and the opportunities emerging from technological change.