MAM
IAA marks 85 years of existence
Mumbai: This October, the International Advertising Association (IAA), the world’s most influential network of marketing and marketing communications professionals and global umbrella body for the marketing and advertising industry is celebrating 85 years of existence with a series of key events and initiatives aimed at bringing together its thousands of multidisciplinary members. Among the initiatives are:
● The official launch of IAA’s new 85 years celebrations logo starting 3 October 2023
● 3 October 2023 – The IAA Global B2B Brand Summit with a selection of the finest voices in B2B from around the world.
● 4 October 2023 – A gala dinner in New York City, attended by 85 of IAA global leaders and IAA Compass partners from 56 countries around the world.
● 6-8 March 2024 – The 45th IAA World Congress, which takes place every two-three years in major cities around the world, will be held in Penang, Malaysia highlighting sustainability, diversity, equity, inclusion and ESG.
IAA Global chairman and world president Sasan Saeidi said: “Since IAA was founded 85 years ago by Thomas Ashwell and 12 Ad Execs at the New York Harvard Club, much has changed in the industry and in the approach of advertising goods and services. IAA is kicking off celebrations with initiatives which bring together our vast and multidisciplinary members, allowing IAA to tap on global best practice and play a strong role in supporting key industry issues and values.”
IAA Global executive global director Dagmara Szulce said: “The IAA North Star values of creativity, advocacy, education, collaboration, professional development, diversity, equity, and inclusion guide IAA and underscore our 85 years celebrations. IAA is committed to helping the communication industry navigate the implementation of the North Star values in their own company cultures, in a rapidly changing world.”
IAA Global VP diversity, equity, and inclusion of and IAA Australia president Sheba Nandkeolyar said: “It is a privilege to lead IAA DE&I and Australia at this important time in IAA’s history. As our 85 years celebrations spotlight IAA’s value for members, I am pleased to see increased demand in joining our network of over 4,000 individual and corporate members spanning marketing, advertising, media, IT communications and academic sectors spanning 56 countries.”
IAA Australia chair Heather Leembruggen said: “In our 43 years existence in Australia, IAA has flourished and established a strong reputation through our thought leadership and initiatives such as IAA Australia’s Big Idea Challenge – one of the iconic initiatives designed by IAA for the next generation – now in its 21st year. With the benefit of a rich and long history to learn from, the future of IAA and IAA Australia is bright.”
IAA area director & vice president, Asia Pacific region Pradeep Dwivedi said: “The IAA APAC region has amazing potential and joins the IAA @ 85 celebrations along with chapters in Australia, Bangladesh, China, India, Iran, S. Korea, Malaysia, Macao, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Taipei and new emerging chapters to take the ideals of the IAA forward and collectively ensure that IAA remains the leading compass of marketing communications globally in a dynamic business world, even as we thrive on the amazing confluence of creativity and technology in our industry with social impact as a key tenet”
IAA India Chapter president Avinash Pandey expressed, “As the International Advertising Association marks its remarkable 85-year journey, we take pride in being part of this global community that has consistently shaped the landscape of marketing and advertising. The series of events and initiatives planned for this milestone not only reflect the IAA’s enduring commitment but also offer a platform for our diverse members to connect, collaborate, and contribute to the future of our dynamic industry. We look forward to contributing to the continued success and influence of the IAA as we navigate the exciting intersection of creativity and technology, with social impact at the forefront of our endeavours. Here’s to 85 years of innovation, camaraderie, and the unwavering spirit that propels the IAA forward.”
Digital
Eight-year-old coder steals the show at India AI Impact Summit 2026
Ranvir Sachdeva meets Sundar Pichai and Sam Altman, links ancient philosophy to modern AI
DELHI: Amid a sea of global tech chiefs and policy heavyweights, the loudest buzz at Bharat Mandapam this week came from a boy barely tall enough to see over the lectern.
Ranvir Sachdeva, eight, became the youngest keynote speaker at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi, elbowing his way into a line-up dominated by chief executives, founders and ministers. Calm, bespectacled and fiercely articulate, he declared himself a technologist — and spoke like one.
“I’m here as the youngest keynote speaker at the India AI Impact Summit. I’m talking about how I’m linking ancient Indian philosophies to modern-day technologies. I’m also covering the different approaches which the rest of the nations are building AI,” he told news agency ANI.
He added: “I’m talking about how India is building AI with. I’m sharing my own use case of an Indian AI model just released and how I’m contributing to India’s GDP and driving AI literacy with it.”
The summit, held from February 16 to 21 in New Delhi, has drawn global names. Ranvir met Google chief executive Sundar Pichai and OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman on the sidelines, sharing photographs of the encounters. He has previously met Salesforce chief executive Marc Benioff and Doreen Bogdan-Martin, secretary-general of the International Telecommunication Union, at the AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva.
In 2024, he met António Guterres, United Nations secretary-general.
His most high-profile brush with corporate royalty came earlier. In 2023, during the opening of Apple’s Delhi store, Ranvir demonstrated his Swift coding skills to Apple chief executive Tim Cook in a one-on-one session. Cook later posted: “What an incredible reception, Delhi, thank you! We’re delighted to welcome our customers to our newest store—Apple Saket!”
What an incredible reception, Delhi, thank you! We’re delighted to welcome our customers to our newest store—Apple Saket! pic.twitter.com/5Jmi79ixzl— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) April 20, 2023
Ranvir replied publicly: “Thank you so much, @tim_cook! It was great meeting you today and showcasing my Apple Swift coding skills! You are an inspiration and I so want to meet you at #WWDC2023!”
Thank you so much, Tim! You are an inspiration and I so want to meet you at #WWDC2023 ! 🙂 https://t.co/BVthznLjD8— Ranvir Singh Sachdeva (@ranvirsachdeva) April 20, 2023
The invitation followed. Cook extended a personal call for Ranvir to attend the Worldwide Developers Conference 2023 at Apple Park in Cupertino.
This is not Ranvir’s first turn on the global stage. In 2025, aged seven, he addressed the United Nations’ AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva as its youngest keynote speaker. He spoke for 20 minutes on “Agents of Change: A 7-Year-Old’s Lens on Generation AI for Good”, in front of more than 10,000 attendees from over 180 countries and 53 UN partner organisations.
He shared the broader stage with Geoffrey Hinton, Nobel laureate and Turing Award winner, alongside senior figures from Amazon, Meta and Salesforce. According to a LinkedIn post by the Ardee School, Ranvir argued that “Generation AI are the true changemakers”, highlighting healthcare breakthroughs from bionic solutions and exoskeletons to assistive devices for ALS patients. He called for the democratisation of such tools to bridge the digital divide.
The precocity runs deep. At six, he became the world’s youngest TEDx speaker, speaking on technology and innovation. At five, he won a gold medal as a “Super Presenter” in the 2022 Global Reading Challenge. Media reports say that in 2021 he built a prototype rocket aimed at supporting NASA’s Mars exploration, earning recognition from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
In 2023, he became the youngest recipient of a robotics and AI certification from IIT Delhi after a summer workshop at the I-HUB Foundation for Robotics.
He began coding at three.
At an event otherwise obsessed with trillion-dollar valuations, sovereign AI stacks and regulatory guardrails, it was a small voice that cut through. Linking Sanskrit thought to silicon chips, GDP to generative models, Ranvir Sachdeva did more than make history. He made the grown-ups listen.
#WATCH | Delhi: At #IndiaAIImpactSummit2026, Ranvir Sachdeva, Child Prodigy, Technologist, Global Author says, "I'm here as the youngest keynote speaker at the India AI Impact Summit. I'm talking about how I'm linking ancient Indian philosophies to modern-day technologies. I'm… pic.twitter.com/e3OGgtxyDK— ANI (@ANI) February 19, 2026
