AD Agencies
Vanita Keswani steps away from Madison after 30 years
MUMBAI: After nearly three decades of shaping Indian media buying and strategy, Vanita Keswani has called time on her long and influential innings at Madison World.
Keswani, who has been CEO of Madison Media Sigma since 2015, exits the group after a career that mirrors the modern evolution of India’s media industry itself. Calm, commercial and quietly formidable, she has been one of the most recognisable leadership faces within the Madison network.
Her Madison story began in 1995, when she joined as an account manager on the Coca-Cola business. Over the next twenty years, she rose steadily through the ranks, handling marquee accounts such as Godrej Consumer, leading large client portfolios as business director and general manager, and eventually being named COO in 2012. Three years later, she was elevated to CEO, taking full charge of Madison Media Sigma’s growth agenda.
As CEO, Keswani steered the agency through a period of rapid change, balancing traditional media strengths with an increasing focus on digital growth and innovation. She managed the company’s P&L, led the core business development and training teams, and played a central role in driving media solutions that delivered tangible business results for clients.
Her tenure was marked by consistent new business wins, strong organic growth from existing clients and a steady stream of industry accolades. Under her leadership, Madison Media Sigma teams picked up awards across platforms such as the Emvies, Abbys, Prime Time Awards, OACs and Golden Mikes. Keswani herself was recognised among Impact magazine’s Top 50 Most Influential Women in Media.
Beyond the boardroom, she has been a visible industry voice, regularly serving as a panelist and moderator at advertising and marketing forums. She is also a visiting faculty member at postgraduate institutes, sharing practical leadership lessons shaped by decades on the frontlines of media.
Her professional grounding was built early, with stints at Bennett Coleman and Co, where she worked in sales and marketing for Times FM, and earlier as product manager for flagship magazines such as Femina and Filmfare. Along the way, she invested in leadership development through programmes at ISB and with global leadership thinkers.
With her departure, Madison closes a significant chapter in its history. Keswani leaves behind a legacy defined not by noise, but by consistency, clarity and results. In an industry that thrives on constant change, her career stands as proof that steady leadership can still make the loudest impact.
AD Agencies
Publicis Brazil’s creative chief Mauro Ramalho lands the jury chair at Abby Awards 2026
Mauro Ramalho brings 25 years of global advertising firepower to the new creative commerce, use of data and B2B category at Goafest
GOA: The Abby Awards 2026, powered by The One Club and The One Show, has appointed Mauro Ramalho, chief creative officer of Publicis Brazil, as jury chair for its newly launched creative commerce, use of data and B2B category. The announcement, made on 18 March, signals the awards’ intent to bring serious international muscle to a category that sits squarely at the intersection of creativity and commercial performance.
Ramalho is not a name that needs much introduction in global advertising circles. Over 25 years spanning three countries, he has worked at some of the industry’s most creatively restless addresses. At AKQA in San Francisco, he worked across McDonald’s, Nike, Fox, Target, Kraft Foods and GAP, and helped lead “The Lost Ring” for McDonald’s, one of the first alternate reality campaigns and among the most awarded projects of its era. He later moved to Organic in Toronto, bridging the Detroit and Toronto offices on Dodge, Jeep and Chrysler, before spending over a decade building CUBOCC into one of Brazil’s most iconic and innovative independent agencies, which subsequently joined the IPG network.
A stint at FCB followed, where Ramalho led integrated work bridging online and offline, before he joined R/GA São Paulo as vice-president and executive creative director, stitching together the São Paulo office with New York, London, Portland and California on global clients including Verizon, Google, Meta, Samsung, American Express and Heineken. He now heads Publicis Brazil as its chief creative officer.
His trophy cabinet includes Clios, Effies, TikTok awards and MMA Smarties, and he has served on juries at the Andys, TikTok and the Lisbon Awards.
The Abby Awards 2026 is scheduled to take place at Goafest 2026 on 20, 21 and 22 May in Goa.
For Indian advertising, landing a jury chair of Ramalho’s calibre for a category built around data-driven creativity and commerce is a statement of ambition. Goafest just raised its own bar.
