AAAI re-elects Prasanth Kumar, Rana Barua as President and Vice-President

New Delhi: Prasanth Kumar, CEO - South Asia of GroupM Media (India) was re-elected as the President of the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) for the year 2024-25 at its Annual General Body Meeting held in Mumbai.

Rana Barua, Group CEO - Havas India, South East & North Asia (Japan & South Korea) was unanimously elected Vice-President of the Association.

Kumar and Barua were both re-elected last year as President and Vice-President, respectively.

Other elected members of the Board in alphabetical order are:

Sam Balsara                                    Madison Communications Pvt Ltd

Tanya Goyal                                     Everest Brand Solutions Pvt Ltd

Tapas Gupta                                    BEI Confluence Communication Ltd

Vishandas Hardasani                      Matrix Publicities and Media India Pvt Ltd

Mohit Joshi                                       Havas Media India Pvt Ltd

Santosh Kumar                              Innocean Worldwide Communications Pvt Ltd

Kunal Lalani                                     Crayons Advertising Pvt Ltd

Rohan Mehta                                   Kinnect Pvt Ltd

Chandramouli Muthu                           Maitri Advertising Works Pvt Ltd, Cochin

Vikram Sakhuja                                Platinum Advertising Pvt Ltd

Kalyan Sarkar                                   Standard Publicity Pvt Ltd

K Srinivas                                         Sloka Advertising Pvt Ltd, Hyderabad

Immediate Past President, Anupriya Acharya will be the ex-officio member of the AAAI Board for 2024-25.

Prasanth Kumar, President of AAAI, said, “I am deeply honoured by the trust AAAI members have placed in me for another term as President of this distinguished institution. Our commitment to championing innovation, upholding the highest standards of planning and creativity, and building on the momentum we have achieved remains unwavering. Our goal is to provide steadfast support to the entire ecosystem, helping the industry navigate challenges and seize new opportunities. With the exceptional team of AAAI members and the broader ecosystem, I am confident we will continue to shape the future of our industry to greater heights.”

Kumar is a GroupM veteran having worked in the organisation in various capacities for over 20 years in his overall experience of over two decades in advertising. He has also worked at Pepsi, The Hindu, The Media Edge & McCann Erickson prior to joining GroupM. He has also been Vice President of AAAI during 2020-22.

On his appointment as Vice-President, AAAI, Rana Barua said “Being appointed Vice President of AAAI for the third time is both an honor and a testament to the trust the industry places in me. I look forward to continuing our efforts in driving innovation and excellence in advertising while supporting the growth of this dynamic industry."

Some experienced persons will be inducted on the Board of AAAI and more positions will be filled later on to make the Board broad-based.