Arun Sharma: Navigating scale and strategy in India’s media ecosystem

Arun Sharma currently serves as Chief Operating Officer of Initiative Media and Managing Director of Magna at Initiative, part of IPG Mediabrands, a role he has held since March 2018. Over the years, Sharma has worked across both agency and client ecosystems, shaping media strategy, planning and investment frameworks in an increasingly complex marketplace.

Before joining IPG Mediabrands, Sharma spent over a decade with Bharti Airtel, where he rose to the position of Vice President - Marketing and Head Media (all businesses, South Asia). At Airtel, he led media strategy, planning, buying, deployment, ROI measurement and research, while overseeing significant marketing budgets during a period of rapid expansion and competitive shifts in the telecom sector.

Sharma began his career in 1998 with Madison World, working on the Coca-Cola business as a Strategic Planning Supervisor. In 1999, he moved to Universal McCann as Associate Media Director, handling brands including Nestlé, L’Oréal and Gillette. A brief stint at MediaCom followed in 2003, before he transitioned to the client side with Bharti Airtel as Deputy General Manager (Marketing). After 11 years with Airtel, he returned to the agency ecosystem in 2014, joining Initiative as Vice President and Business Head for the Reckitt Benckiser portfolio.

Across his career, Sharma has worked on brands such as Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Gillette, J&J and GSK.

Beyond his corporate roles, Sharma contributes to industry platforms and governance bodies. He serves on the Advisory Board of the iMedia Summit, is part of the Advisory Board of TechCrunch, sits on the Technical Committee of the Indian Readership Survey (IRS), and is a member of the Media Committee of the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA).

As he marks his birthday, Sharma’s career reflects sustained engagement with both the strategic and operational aspects of India’s evolving media landscape.