MAM
Ad Club names jury chairs for Abby Awards 2026 categories
Chaturvedi, Sen and Chakravarti to lead Video Craft, Broadcaster, Young Maverick.
MUMBAI: When it comes to judging creativity, the jury just got a serious creative upgrade. The The Ad Club has appointed Shashanka Chaturvedi, Sumona Sen and Pallavi Chakravarti as Jury Chairs for the Video Craft, Broadcaster and Young Maverick Abby categories respectively at the Abby Awards 2026, powered by The One Club.
Chaturvedi, co-founder of Good Morning Films, brings a decorated career to the Video Craft category. A self-taught filmmaker, he has won close to 150 awards, including two Gold Lions at Cannes Lions, a first for an Indian director. His work spans brands such as Thums Up, Tata Safari and Cadbury, while his debut feature Do Patti emerged as Netflix India’s number one film in 2024 and entered the global Top 10 for non-English titles.
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. Senior vice president for network marketing strategy and growth Sumona Sen will chair the Broadcaster category. With over two decades of experience, she has focused on blending consumer insight with data-led strategy, while driving marketing transformation and integrating MarTech and AI-led solutions within the organisation.
Meanwhile, Fundamental founder and CCO Pallavi Chakravarti takes charge of the Young Maverick Abby category. Having gone independent in 2023, she has built a portfolio spanning brands like Whatsapp, Airtel and Adidas. Her work has earned recognition across major global platforms including D&AD, Cannes Lions and The One Show, alongside effectiveness honours such as the Effies.
The Abby Awards 2026 will be held during Goafest 2026 from May 20 to 22 at Taj Cidade de Goa Horizon, bringing together the industry’s top creative and marketing talent.
With a line-up that blends craft, strategy and cultural insight, this year’s jury chairs signal a clear brief: creativity will not just be judged, it will be challenged.
Brands
RBS acquires Zeko to boost AI-driven guest experience in hospitality
Deal adds automation, upselling and concierge tools to power smarter hotel stays
NEW DELHI: RBS has acquired Zeko, signalling a sharper push into AI-led innovation across the global hospitality sector.
The move strengthens RBS’s ambition to build a unified, intelligent platform that simplifies hotel operations while enhancing guest experience. With Zeko’s technology now in the mix, the company is adding a layer of automation that spans the entire guest journey, from pre-arrival interactions to post-checkout engagement.
Zeko’s platform brings together AI-powered upselling, WhatsApp automation, digital check-in and real-time concierge services into a single system that integrates with existing hotel management software. The result is a more seamless, personalised stay for guests, alongside operational efficiency for hotel teams. Hotels using the platform have reported revenue gains of up to 20 per cent through improved engagement and ancillary sales.
RBS chief executive officer Glenn Turner said, “The guest experience is where hospitality businesses win or lose. Zeko gives operators a proven, intelligent layer that engages guests at every touchpoint, from the moment they book to the moment they check out. Adding that capability to the RBS platform is a meaningful step forward for the operators we serve.”
For Zeko, the deal opens the door to wider global deployment. Zeko founder and chief executive officer Manit Deep Prashar said, “Joining forces with RBS enables us to scale our guest engagement platform across thousands of properties globally. Together, we are extending that capability worldwide, enabling operators to automate workflows, unlock new revenue streams and deliver seamless guest experiences.”
The acquisition underlines a broader shift in hospitality, where AI is moving from a novelty to a necessity. As guest expectations rise and operations grow more complex, platforms that blend automation with personalisation are fast becoming the industry’s new standard.
