AAAI Media Council joined by WPP, Omnicom, Publicis, Havas and Madison seniors

The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) convened the first meeting of its Media Council, bringing together senior leaders from India’s leading agency networks to establish a common platform for dialogue, addressing shared priorities and collective action on issues shaping the future of the media and advertising industry.

Chaired by Omnicom Media’s Kartik Sharma, the meeting brought together leaders from Omnicom Media, WPP Media, Publicis Media, Havas, Madison World, R K Swamy and Network Advertising, among others. The initiative marks an important step in strengthening specialist participation within AAAI and giving member agencies a more active voice in shaping the industry’s direction

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Members of the AAAI Media Council include:

• Omnicom Media: Monaz Todywalla, Anisha Iyer
• WPP Media: Amin Lakhani, Navin Khemka
• Publicis Media: Niti Kumar, Jai Lala
• Havas: Uday Mohan, Shibu Shivanandan
• Madison World: Mayank Bhatnagar
• R K Swamy: Navin Kathuria
• Network Advertising: Rohan Nair

Part of AAAI’s 2026–27 agenda to deepen industry engagement and address the opportunities and challenges facing the media business, the Media Council serves as the forum for agencies to deliberate on shared priorities, foster constructive engagement with advertisers, media owners, research bodies and other stakeholders.
Key priorities discussed at the inaugural meeting included:

• Talent and Capability Development: Bringing world-class learning systems to India through local and global knowledge partnerships, while addressing the growing demand for media professionals.

• Industry Collaboration: Establishing a flagship annual platform for knowledge exchange and engagement across the media ecosystem.

• Thought Leadership: Developing insights and practical playbooks on emerging areas of advertising and media.

Speaking at the meeting, Kartik Sharma, Chair, AAAI Media Council, said: “Bringing India’s leading media agencies together on a common platform is an important step towards advancing the industry as a whole. The challenges and opportunities before our business increasingly cut across individual agencies, making collaboration essential. Our ambition is to translate shared industry priorities into practical initiatives that prepare the media ecosystem for the future.”

As an immediate step towards translating these priorities into action, the Council resolved to meet regularly and constituted three working groups focused on Knowledge Sharing, Events and Thought Leadership. These groups will take forward the respective initiatives and develop actionable programmes for the industry.

Dr Sandeep Goyal, President, AAAI, appreciated the Council’s initiative and emphasised the importance of ensuring that the concerns of small and medium-sized agencies also receive due consideration. He highlighted the Council’s role in helping agencies navigate industry developments and ensuring that clients are appropriately guided.

The deliberations were also guided by Jaydeep Gandhi, Vice President, AAAI, & Founder, Another Idea; Babita Baruah, Honorary Secretary, AAAI, & Senior Regional Lead, VML India; and Punit Batra, Hon. Treasurer & CMD, Ratan Batra Advertising.