AAAI Re-elects Prasanth Kumar As President; Rana Barua Joins As Vice President

Prasanth Kumar, CEO - South Asia of GroupM Media has been re-elected as the president of the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) for 2024-25. Additionally, Rana Barua, group CEO - Havas India, South East & North Asia (Japan & South Korea) has been unanimously elected as the vice president of the Association. The new developments were revealed at the annual general body meeting held in Mumbai.

Other elected members of the Board in alphabetical order are:

Sam Balsara, Madison Communications 

Tanya Goyal, Everest Brand Solutions 

Tapas Gupta, BEI Confluence Communication 

Vishandas Hardasani, Matrix Publicities and Media India 

Mohit Joshi, Havas Media India 

Santosh Kumar, Innocean Worldwide Communications

Kunal Lalani, Crayons Advertising

Rohan Mehta, Kinnect

Chandramouli Muthu, Maitri Advertising Works

Vikram Sakhuja, Platinum Advertising 

Kalyan Sarkar, Standard Publicity 

K Srinivas, Sloka Advertising 

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

On this occasion, 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 before joining GroupM. He has also been VP of AAAI during 2020-22.

On his appointment as Vice President of AAAI, Rana Barua shares, “Being appointed Vice President of AAAI for the third time is both an honour 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 filled up later on to make the Board broad-based.