Ad World Showdown 2025

Imran Qadri

Imran Qadri heads Marketing & PR for the iconic Harley-Davidson brand in Asia Emerging Markets & India region. He is based out of Bangkok, Thailand. He has been associated with Harley-Davidson since April 2019. Apart from India, he oversees Marketing for Southeast Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore), South Korea, Taiwan & Hong Kong as well. He has 14 years of Marketing work experience with brands like Hero Honda, Hero MotoCorp, Nissan & H-D. He has donned several hats in his past roles ranging from Marketing Communications, Brand Management, Product Marketing, Category Management, Media Planning & Regional Marketing. He has led teams and agencies deliver with award winning campaigns, launches & content. Recently he was adjudged among Top 40 Nationwide Experts declared by Business Mint for 2022. He was also part of Top 50 Marketing and Communication Leaders in India in 2021 as adjudged by White Page International and among Top 100 in Asia for 2022. He was one of the Social Samosa Top 40 Marketers for the batch of 2019-20 and among Top 25 Content Disruptors in India in 2020 declared by Vidsaga.com. He has been a jury member with many credible advertising & communication forums. An MBA in Marketing from FORE School of Management, Delhi, Imran has a B.E. Mechanical degree from MSRIT, Bangalore, apart from executive leadership & digital marketing certifications from Vanderbilt University & IIM Lucknow, respectively. He is a certified Sports car instructor and has a flair for writing.

Balaaji Vaidyanathan

Balaji Vaidyanathan is an award winning and accomplished global marketing leader with over 20 years of experience driving ground-breaking integrated marketing campaigns and strategic initiatives, leading from the front to build and inspire global cross-functional teams across complex organizations to enhance brand positioning, value, and revenues. In his current role since February 2019, Balaji is responsible for building the marketing value proposition and growing the brand’s strategic and digital footprint for the CEEMEA region, based out of Dubai. He also drives the marketing efforts for a global strategic project to launch the first ever fintech wealth management platform in Germany as part of a broader European market penetration strategy. Prior to this, Balaji was Deputy Head – Marketing for Franklin Templeton India based out of Mumbai, since February 2010, responsible for multi-million $ budgets and leading all key brand initiatives including advertising, investor education, events and advisor engagement.

Balaji has been one of the early adopters of leveraging gamification, content marketing and storytelling in the mutual fund industry to promote investor education in the online space. His deep understanding of consumer marketing and customer life-cycle journeys have won him dozens of awards globally for creativity, content, innovation and effectiveness.

Shrishail Deshnur

Shrishail is a marketing professional with over 18 years of experience across categories of consumer products, financial services and pharma.Currently, he heads the consumer marketing function at Cipla and is instrumental in spearheading the company’s largest consumer awareness initiative.In his previous stint, he was heading the marketing function for the stationery business at Pidilite. Earlier in his career, he has worked with Berger paints, ICICI Prudential, MetLife, and Kotak Life.Shrishail is a foodie and a self-proclaimed movie critic. He loves to drive and play cricket with his 9-year-old son during his free time.

Kavita Jagtiani

Experienced brand builder and business professional with over 20 years of cross category work experience in consultancy, financial services, luxury goods and consumer products.

Expertise & proven track record in strategic planning, category creation, innovation, consumer insights, integrated campaigns and in-market brand activation.

Prasad Pimple

Prasad is a firm believer in the process of ideation – experimentation – learning fast – succeeding faster & scaling up cheap.

A Chemical Engineer from UDCT & MBA from JBIMS, Prasad has 19 years of experience in Digital business, brand & product management, customer acquisition, customer life cycle management, strategy, business planning and research across insurance, telecom, banking and engineering sectors.

Prior to Kotak Life, Prasad has worked in HDFC Life, Tata Docomo, Vodafone, ICICI Bank & Kotak Mahindra Bank.

Sharmila Sandeep

An MBA in Marketing from PSG Institute of Management. Also holds M.A & M.Phil in Sociology. Sharmila joined Saint-Gobain -Gyproc in 2021 as the Head of Marketing.

Sharmila has 18yrs of Brand and Marketing experience across various industries. Prior to Saint-Gobain, Sharmila led marketing and product management at ICICI Bank, Bisleri, Pidilite, Hatsun Agro, Radio Mirchi & Future group retail. Sharmila has vivid interest and acquired skills in numerous handicrafts, conducts workshops and loves being a swimming coach. She unwinds by watching movies and social networking.

Soumen Das

A seasoned Pharmaceutical Sales & Marketing Professional with 15 years of experience with Top Pharma Companies.

Proficiency in Portfolio building in Multiple Acute and Chronic therapy Areas.

A turnaround specialist with exceptional skills in identifying and promoting brand value proposition, capitalizing newer market opportunities, enhancing product positioning with effective marketing communication, improving product profitability, Life-cycle-management of Mega Brands.

An adept in understanding customers and use these insights to guide agencies to create breakthrough and high-impact creative campaigns.

Highly skilled in strategic decision making for sales effectiveness & brand mix and manage marketing activities to deliver > 100% bottom line.

Sudeep Chawla

Sudeep is passionate about storytelling, building brands & categories and perfecting human connections. He has spent the last 17 years in various sales and marketing roles in Cadbury/ Mondelez and Pidilite, both being companies with incredible brand-building capabilities. This combination also makes him a rare marketer to have built brands in B2C as well as B2B space. He is passionate about everything that’s related to marketing and people. He is also a Marketing educator who conducts a crash course titled “Science behind the art of advertising” at GrowthSchool where he unpacks frameworks to create effective & measurable brand campaigns. His course has added value to around 2000+ industry professionals, marketing enthusiasts and students thus far. He also hosts a marketing podcast titled “CoBB -Conversations over Business of Brands” with his ex-colleague from Mondelez where they try to dispel myths & misinformation related to marketing

Amiya Swarup

Amiya Swarup Heads Marketing Advisory and is Partner for Ernst & Young. He has nearly two decades of experience in fostering collaboration within the intricate web of marketers, media agencies, martech partners, and media houses, building a better working world

Rohit Gulati

Rohit brings under two decades of diverse Sales , Marketing, Strategy and Commercial Leadership Experience ( P&L responsibilities ) in the Healthcare industry ( Pharmaceuticals & Medical Devices ) working across therapy areas like Orthopaedics , Ophthalmology , Infusion Therapy & Endoscopy across India and Subcontinent . He is currently the Director Marketing – India & South Asia for Johnson & Johnson Surgical Vision in India . He is part of the Vision Care India LT & Regional Marketing Council.

Aditya Menon

Ajey Maharaj

Ajey Maharaj leads Corporate Communications and PR at Fortis Healthcare Ltd, leveraging over 30 years of experience in Corporate Communications and Marketing Communications. His expertise extends to internal and external communications, crisis management, media engagement, public advocacy, CSR, and building corporate reputation. Ajey is known for his exceptional interpersonal skills and ability to develop collaborative relationships, alongside strategic thinking and problem-solving abilities.

His tenure in corporate communications has been decorated with several accolades, including the ‘Corporate Communications Professional of the Year 2021’ and ‘Top 100 Influential Game Changer’s award’ for multiple years ( 2021, 2022 and 2023) from Exchange4media and Business World Group. He also received the ‘PRO of the Year Award 2009’ from the Media Federation of India and the ‘Media Corporate Communications Man of the Year 2010-11’ from The Institute of Economic Studies.

At Fortis Healthcare, Ajey’s role encompasses strategic media and PR planning, integrated communication execution, enhancing corporate image, and crisis management. Additionally, Ajey contributes his expertise as a board member to several Fortis entities, including the Fortis CSR Foundation, Fortis HealthStaff Limited, Malar Stars Medicare, Fortis Health Management (East) Limited, and Fortis Cancer Care Limited.

Before joining Fortis, Ajey held significant positions in notable organizations such as Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited, Bharti Tele Ventures Ltd., Reliance Energy Limited, Asea Brown Boveri Ltd., and Steel Authority Of India Limited. His academic qualifications include a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management from AIMA, New Delhi, Bachelor of Arts from Hindu College, University of Delhi and completed his AISSCE at Air Force Bal Bharti School, Lodi Road, New Delhi.

In addition to his professional achievements, Ajey is an accomplished athlete, having represented India in basketball at various master international events and participating in International Cricket Sixes Tournaments. His athletic accomplishments complement his dynamic corporate communications career, where he has established a legacy of robust media relations and corporate brand enhancement.

Anshuman Chkravarty

Brand Management and Marketing Communications practitioner with experience in working in India and international markets (Asia & Europe), with exposure in B2C & B2B domains. An MBA in Marketing & Post Graduate in Journalism & Mass-comm., with over 20 years experience in strategizing and executing brand launches, re-positioning strategies, media planning and buying, internal and external communication, social & digital marketing, PR & reputation management, crisis communication, events and celebrity management & supporting financial PR & IR.

Amitabh Biswas

Anil Gurnani

Bhaskar Majumdar

Charu Malhotra

Expertise in Brand Rejuvenation and brand transformation | 20 years of success in conceiving, conceptualizing & implementing brand strategy to fuel market presence & drive revenue |voracious appetite for triggering brand growth with marketing campaigns

Jiteen Aggarwal

Karan Sabde

Kavita Vyas

Madhumita Phukan

Madhumita Phukan is a Marketing, PR and Corporate Communications professional with over 19 years of experience in various industry verticals. Madhumita is currently working with Tech Mahindra as the Global Marketing Head for AI Businesses. Prior to Tech Mahindra, she worked with Concentrix as Associate Director, Marketing and with IBM as a Brand & Communications Leader – India/South Asia for Global Technology Services Client Innovation Centres, Labs, Social Media, CSR, Crisis Management.
She is an alumnus of MICA, IIT Delhi Management School, Wharton School (University of Pennsylvania, USA), Amity School of Communications and Guwahati University. Besides, she is also an independent Blogger. She loves to write about her personal experiences, short stories, different social issues, opinion articles and review various products and services. Many of Madhumita’s blogs, poems, articles and stories have been published in different portals and publications e.g, Women’s Era, Business World, Assam Tribune, The Sentinel, StoryMirror, BeyondClassrooms etc.
Madhumita won many pan India Blogging Awards, and she was among the TOP 5 Bloggers in India in WIN 2015 and also, she won National Award in All India Cartoon Contest, 2003.
Madhumita is also the Communication Chair for IEEE International Conference on Cloud Computing for Emerging Market, ACM International Conference on Multimodal Interaction and IEEE Sustainable Development Platform Program.

Mayank Prabhakar

A Core Business leader with a Deep understanding of the products, marketing, Sales & consumer.. He is called as the “Go Getter” who deals in hardcore numbers and assure that every Penny spends attributes to a Business goal & a value for consumer. A Highly Agile Marketer with great ability to adapt with the changing trends of Digital Marketing.
He started his carrier at the age of 22 and assured that he has a deep hands on experience across Business lifecycle & he acquired a great experience in across domains like:
> Product development & Management, Brand Building, Digital Marketing, Establishing Ecommerce & D2C Businesses, Content & Influencer Marketing, Consumer Acquisition & Retention, Leadership Skills with Team Management. A complete Entrepreneur stints.

In this passionate 18yrs of professional journey, he has been rewarded with multiple excellence awards in every organization worked in;
 One97 (paytm) : Best Sales person of the year
 Times of India: Chairman Excellence award
 Cheil/Samung: Most innovative idea person, recognized globally.,
And have recently received the prestigious award of Business world marketer 40under40.

An extra ordinary individual with a blended experience of working in a Startup , Leading Media Houses , Aggressive & Innovative Media Agencies , leading Brand Side of a highly competitive market of smartphones, he has gained & adapted an diversified approach, growth Path & organization cultures.
With such a great Mix of Sales, products & marketing he has worked with over 70 Brands & 500+ successful marketing campaigns.
He is now in working with vivo India Pvt Limited as General Manager, Head of Digital Marketing , which is a market Leader is the Smartphone Industry. Assuring that the brand is scaling to New heights in the Era of Digital Marketing wherein the consumer is the king & brand Se

Neelima Burra

Neelima Burra is the Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer at Luminous Power Technologies. At Luminous, she is steering the company onto strategic innovation and business transformation pathway for propelling the organisation to greater market dominance in the energy space. In a career spanning over 20 years, Neelima has emerged as the leading voice in Indian business landscape. She has been recognized as a top influential women leader in India by Femina as well as amongst the 100 Most Influential Marketing Leaders by the World Marketing Congress.

Neelima has consistently driven organisations towards business excellence in diverse sectors, including Hospitality, FMCG, IT & Consumer Electronics, OTC, and Consumer Durables. Her extensive experience encompasses both the Indian market and specific markets across Asia. Before joining Luminous, she was at the Oberoi Group, as EVP and Chief Commercial Officer, successfully leading its business revival amidst Covid-19 challenges. She was also the Co-founder of Ganymede Business Ventures, spearheading the world’s largest ‘Food on Street’ service chain. Her previous experiences include managing leadership positions and key roles in HP, Cargill, Usha International, Whirlpool Corp and Britannia.

With her profound understanding of strategy, marketing, sales, and operations within the consumer goods space and services industry, Neelima is playing a pivotal role in transforming the brand while driving growth and profitability. With sustainability being a subject close to her heart, she is known driving organizational restructuring and for implementing ROI-driven conscious business strategies.

Beyond her professional achievements, Neelima nurtures a deep passion for gardening and embarks on solo travel adventures. Her love for food, particularly street food, inspired her to launch her own food tech startup. As a mother to a daughter and proud owner of two delightful pet dogs named Bruno and Kiro, she finds immense joy and fulfilment in nurturing her loved ones.

Nikhil Bharadwaj

Sachin Vashishtha

Shobha Vasudevan

Shobha Vasudevan is an industry stalwart with an extensive experience of over 23 years. She currently heads the communication strategy for Dell Technologies India’s Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG) – one of the largest portfolios of the company in the market. Previously, Shobha has also successfully spearheaded communications strategy for several IT and consumer giants such as Microsoft and Canon.

Following EMC’s merger with Dell in 2015, Shobha has successfully shaped and driven integrated enterprise marketing communications campaigns for Dell Technologies in India as a front runner in using new age communication tools to create a better impact for the brand. Under her guidance and encouragement, Dell Technologies has been able to break the barriers of technical B2B tech communication to emerge as a disruptor in meaningful conversations around the industry wherein Dell Technologies’ spokespeople have been established as thought leaders in India.

Additionally, Shobha is a graduate in Bachelor of Arts from Delhi University with a Business English Communication level 2 certificate from Cambridge University.

Shweta Srivastava

Digital evangelist and Marketing professional having more than 18 years of diverse experience at various organizations in making strategies, plans and driving execution for achieving business goals. Currently Steering the digital and Omni-Channel landscape of Dr Reddys globally as Head of Digital and Omni Channel Marketing for global markets. Developing the digital strategy and roadmap. Responsible for the definition & implementation of strategy across Countries, Collaborating with stakeholders globally for various verticals and businesses and integrating relevant touchpoints throughout the customer decision journey. Have worked with companies like Philips, DuPont, GroupM, Hindustan Times, Indiamart etc. in the past.

Various Industry awards for my work and individual recognitions are –

 Global Woman Leader Award 2023 and World Women Leadership Award 2020 by World women leadership congress

100 Smartest Digital Marketing Leaders 2019, CMO Asia

 BBC Knowledge Women Leadership in Industry Award 2017

 ‘Woman Super Achiever in Digital and Social in Asia’ in 2014 by CMO

 Most Influential Digital Media professional 2015 and 2018 by World Marketing Congress,

 Adobe Content100 Brand & Content custodians in 2017.

 Best Digital Marketing Professional’ Mobby’s award in 2013

Sumeet Pahwa

Adhishree Murdia

Adhishree Murdia is an industry leader with a rich 2-decade journey in media and entertainment. She is a performance driven marketing expert, renowned for crafting cutting-edge marketing strategies that drive business growth. Adhishree excels in brand management, strategic planning, and digital media, consistently delivering results that boost sales and enhance brand recall. Her entrepreneurial flair is undeniable, translating vision into execution while identifying and leveraging key consumer drivers to supercharge marketing performance.
In the digital realm, Adhishree’s innovative ideas have led to remarkable success. From the RRR Movie campaign launching LF Originals, she’s a trailblazer in digital transformation. Adhishree’s prowess extends to events, partnerships, and barters, where she optimizes costs and amplifies awareness. Her research and consumer analysis skills are top-notch, and she’s a proactive revenue builder.