MAM
Madison Media ropes in Vishal, Ambica and Akanksha for key roles
Trio joins to drive digital and integrated growth in North & East
DELHI: Madison Media is giving its North and East operations a fresh jolt of energy, bringing in three senior professionals to strengthen its digital and integrated media leadership.
Vishal Kumar has joined the agency as vice president, digital business for the North and East. He will steer the region’s digital growth plans, working closely with chief digital officer Vivek Das and COO Mimi Deb.
This is a homecoming for Vishal, who returns to Madison with more than 18 years of experience across marketing, media and digital transformation. An alumnus of Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar, he spent nearly eight and a half years at GroupM, most recently leading the digital practice for Wavemaker North. His work earned recognition at industry platforms such as the Emvies and Goafest.
Most recently, he founded LeapX.ai, a Nasscom awarded start up that builds AI agents for paid digital advertising, sharpening his expertise at the crossroads of data, technology and performance marketing.
Madison has also added two more senior hires to the North and East leadership team. Ambica Chaudhary joins as deputy general manager, integrated media, while Akanksha Panwar comes on board as deputy general manager, digital business.
Ambica brings more than 15 years of experience across global agency networks including Starcom, Wavemaker and most recently PHD. She has handled integrated media planning for brands across categories such as CPG, smartphones, luxury fashion, mobility and life sciences, including managing Unilever’s media mandate in North America. At Madison, she will focus on building client centric, integrated media solutions for the region.
Akanksha also comes with over 15 years of experience, spanning software engineering, IT and digital advertising. An MBA from the University of Nottingham, she spent the last six years with WPP Media and previously held digital leadership roles at Dentsu. She has delivered full funnel strategies across sectors such as CPG, electronics, fashion and health insurance, and her work has been recognised at the Emvies, Indian Digital Marketing Awards and Campaign India Digital Crest Awards.
Speaking on his return, Vishal said it was an exciting time to be back as the company moves ahead with its Madison 3.0 vision. He added that his recent experience building LeapX.ai at the intersection of AI, data and performance marketing would help scale digital growth and strengthen tech and data capabilities in the region.
Mimi Deb said the new appointments would add fresh depth to the leadership team. She noted that Vishal’s expertise in data and technology, along with Akanksha’s digital experience and Ambica’s global exposure, would help drive the next phase of growth across the North and East markets.
Vivek Das added that the hires were strategic bets on digital first growth. He said Vishal’s mix of platform scale, AI entrepreneurship and agency experience would help translate Madison’s AI powered tools into sharper strategies and stronger brand commerce integration, while Ambica and Akanksha would reinforce integrated planning and full funnel execution.
With the new trio in place, Madison appears set to press the accelerator on its digital ambitions in the North and East.
Brands
Jubilant FoodWorks faces Rs 47.5 crore GST demand, plans appeal
Tax authorities flag alleged misclassification of restaurant services
MUMBAI:Â Jubilant FoodWorks Limited has landed in a tax tussle after receiving a GST demand of Rs 47.5 crore from the office of the additional commissioner of CGST and central excise in Thane, Maharashtra.
The order, issued under the provisions of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, relates to an alleged incorrect classification of certain services under the category of restaurant services. According to the tax authorities, this classification resulted in a short payment of goods and services tax for the period between the financial years 2019-20 and 2021-22.
The demand includes Rs 47.5 crore in GST along with an equal amount as penalty, in addition to applicable interest. The order was received by the company on March 13, 2026.
In a regulatory filing to the BSE Limited and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited, the company said it disagrees with the order and believes its arguments were not adequately considered.
The company is preparing to challenge the decision and plans to file an appeal. It added that once the redressal process is complete, the demand is likely to be dropped.
Despite the sizeable figure attached to the notice, the company said it does not expect any material impact on its financials, operations or other activities.
The disclosure was signed by Suman Hegde, EVP and chief financial officer, who confirmed that the company received the order at 19:06 IST on March 13 and has already initiated steps to contest it.
The development places the quick service restaurant major in the middle of a tax debate that could hinge on how certain restaurant-linked services are classified under GST rules. For now, the company appears ready to take the matter from the tax office to the appeals desk.
