AD Agencies
DDB Mudra appoints 11 specialists in GOB
MUMBAI: As a part of its endeavor to build a future ready marketing services organisation, DDB Mudra Group has reconstituted the executive board and has announced the formation of The Group Operating Board (GOB). Consisting of leaders with a proven track record within the group and the industry, GOB members bring together diverse skillsets in marketing services and technology from across geographies.
The GOB will advice and assist the Group CEO and MD, Chairman & CCO and CFO on various aspects related to leading and growing the organisation. The GOB will focus on achieving the group’s People and Product goals to deliver client excellence.
The Group Operating Board will include:
• Aditya Kanthy- Chief Strategy Officer, DDB Mudra Group
• Anurag Bansal- Chief Financial Officer, DDB Mudra Group
• Gour Gupta- Executive Director, DDB Mudra Group & CEO, DDB Mudramax (OOH, Events & Experiential)
• Madhukar Kamath, Group CEO & MD, DDB Mudra Group
• Ranji Cherian- President, DDB Mudra South&East
• Rajiv Sabnis- Executive Director, DDB Mudra Group & President, DDB Mudra West
• Rita Verma- Executive Vice President- Organization Development, DDB Mudra Group
• Sathyamurthy Namakkal- Executive Director, DDB Mudra Group & President, DDB Mudramax- Media
• Sonal Dabral, Chairman & CCO, DDB Mudra Group
• Vandana Das- President, DDB Mudra North
• Vineet Gupta- Chief Digital Officer, DDB Mudra Group and MD, 22feet Tribal Worldwide
Quoting on the development, Madhukar Kamath said, “I am thrilled that each one of them is also a specialist in his / her field. The Group Operating Board will help lead collaborations with external partners in Technology, Data Analytics and Content.”
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.
