When I took over as president of the International Advertising Association (IAA) India Chapter in September 2024, the advertising world was facing a massive turning point. Generative AI was moving rapidly from fringe experimentation into actual boardrooms, but there was a real risk of the industry getting lost in the technology hype. Rather than letting the market react passively, these two years were anchored around three simple, practical goals: AI, skilling, and conversation.

The core idea was simple: embrace AI as a tool, while ensuring that human creativity, ethics, empathy and judgement remain firmly at the centre.

Bringing AI into the boardroom, without losing the human touch

A major focus was making AI accessible to brand leaders and agency heads while keeping the human element at the centre. Through the IAA Conversations series, the chapter brought together leading global and Indian voices, from Dr Sanjay Pradhan’s call for ethical accountability to Dr. Manish Gupta of Google DeepMind breaking down frontier AI models, alongside conversations with futurist Adjiedj Bakas.
 
To move beyond the hype and into practical business conversations, the chapter created an exclusive CMO Roundtable on 'Winning in the AI Era', bringing senior marketing leaders together to examine how AI was changing decision-making, creativity and growth.

Focusing on people, talent and storytelling

Recognising that technology is only as good as the people behind it, the chapter pushed hard on upskilling and progressive representation.

For future creative leaders, a hands-on augmented reality learning workshop was organised giving emerging talent the opportunity to experiment with new formats and technologies.
 
At the same time, the IAA Voice of Change initiative tackled bias in advertising. Partnering with UNICEF and the Geena Davis Institute, roadshows went directly into major agencies including Ogilvy, VML, BBDO and Madison. Creative leaders such as Josy Paul of BBDO India and Kainaz Karmakar of Ogilvy India led candid conversations on removing gender stereotypes, culminating in the landmark India Advertising Midline Study.

Building marquee platforms for leadership and creative excellence

Alongside its focus on emerging technologies and skills, the chapter continued to strengthen its marquee properties, creating platforms that brought together some of the most influential voices across business, marketing and creativity.

The IAA Leadership Awards evolved beyond being an awards platform into a space for meaningful leadership conversations. A key focus was bringing the right people into the room and creating opportunities for industry leaders to engage directly with some of the world’s leading business thinkers. Over the two years, the chapter hosted a leadership conversation with Dr. Ram Charan, bringing his perspectives on business, leadership and agility to a room of senior industry and business leaders. The awards also felicitated some of India’s most prominent leaders, including Uday Kotak, Dilip Shanghvi and Prasoon Joshi, alongside other leading CEOs and professionals.

 The IAA IndIAA Awards continued to celebrate creative excellence while strengthening the depth and diversity of its jury. Over the past two years, the awards have brought together eminent industry leaders, with Arun Srinivas, country head, Meta India, and Jayen Mehta, managing director, Amul, chairing the jury during this period.

The Olive Crown Awards remained focused on recognising creative excellence in communicating sustainability and environmental responsibility. But the chapter also sought to ensure that the philosophy behind the awards extended beyond the stage. The initiative walked the talk by working towards making the awards net zero in carbon emissions, including planting trees to offset the event’s carbon footprint. The objective was clear: an awards platform celebrating sustainability should itself strive to operate responsibly.

Connecting industry, policy and broader alliances

The chapter also focused on bringing different parts of the ecosystem together. Over these two years, the IAA deepened inter-industry ties with bodies such as ad:tech, MMA Global and the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA), creating greater opportunities for collaboration and exchange across the marketing and advertising ecosystem.

High-level exchanges featured Prasar Bharati chairperson Shri Navneet Kumar Sehgal on modernising public broadcasting, alongside a dedicated session at the Sambad CEO Conclave in Bhubaneswar on unlocking Eastern India’s growth through skilling and technology.

These conversations reflected a larger objective: to make IAA a platform where advertising, marketing, technology, business, policy and society could meet and engage meaningfully.

Communication as a force for good

While practical steps were taken across all relevant areas of the marketing industry, the IAA never lost sight of its ethos that 'what’s good is good for business' and continued its efforts towards establishing communication as a force for good.

Whether it was raising awareness about the importance of early detection of autism, encouraging eye donation, or highlighting the need to contribute to those affected by the devastating Assam floods, the IAA used its strong links with the creative community as well as the media world to amplify messages that could make a difference.

The idea was to demonstrate that the power of communication extends well beyond selling products and building brands. It can create awareness, mobilise communities and contribute to a better society.

A practical legacy

As September 2026 arrives and I complete my term, the IAA India Chapter leaves behind a stronger platform for the industry to build upon.

The past two years were not about choosing between technology and people. They were about understanding how the two must work together. AI created new possibilities, skilling prepared people to use them, and conversation brought the industry together to question, learn and adapt.

The direction was clear: technology can accelerate the future, but human creativity, judgement, ethics and imagination will continue to define it.

As the chapter moves forward, the IAA India Chapter will also continue to support and contribute to major industry initiatives, including AdAsia 27, which is slated to be held in India.

The work continues, with the same belief that has guided the chapter through these two years: what’s good is good for business, and communication can be a force for good.