MAM
GroupM India restructures Central Trading Group leadership
Mumbai: GroupM India has restructured its media buying function – Central Trading Group (CTG) and announced four key appointments to the leadership team.
Pratik Rathod who has been successfully leading buying for Wavemaker will be taking on an elevated group-level role of GroupM India national broadcast head. “Rathod’s expertise, vast experience and approach to creative solutions will help us further leverage one of the largest mediums. He will help strengthen GroupM’s OneVoice priorities and strengthen media partnerships,” said the company in a statement on Monday.
K Srinivas Rao takes over the Wavemaker buying mandate from Pratik Rathod. Rao has been leading the Mediacom buying function for the past few years. For MediaCom, he has built a strong integrated buying team and strengthened the overall buying products by adopting strong processes.
Rahul Satoskar, currently the region buying lead for Mindshare west, gets elevated to lead Mediacom buying nationally.
Muralidhar T is taking on an elevated role of leading buying function for the whole of Mindshare. Over the years, Muralidhar has done a commendable job and his contribution has led Mindshare buying scale-up to new heights. “Murali’s strategic thinking and astute commercial acumen would help the overall agency further enhance the buying product and enable higher value to unlock for the clients,” said the statement.
“This restructure is a part of evolving transformation for GroupM,” stated GroupM India president of investments and pricing Sidharth Parashar. “The relentless commitment to delivering value to its client’s business is what truly defines team CTG, and I am privileged to lead a multi-dimensional team of leaders who are passionate about media and our client’s business. I am delighted to see these leaders grow and take on larger responsibilities in shaping the GroupM CTG transformational journey.”
MAM
Ad:tech honours 2026: Full list of winners announced
Expanded awards spotlight winners across 22 categories as industry doubles down on intelligent automation
NEW DELHI: Marketing’s tech elite took the spotlight as the ad:tech honours 2026 returned with a sharper focus on AI, data and immersive media, signalling how deeply technology now underpins brand strategy. Held at Yashobhoomi on March 17, the second edition drew industry leaders to celebrate innovation that is reshaping engagement and performance.
Presented with the International Advertising Association India chapter and new partner Huella, the awards expanded from 8 to 22 categories, tracking the rapid convergence of creativity, automation and analytics.
The winners’ list reads like a snapshot of marketing’s future. In affiliate and partner marketing, Lyxel & Flamingo – Boat and Paytm Ads – Giva took silver. Mobavenue Media Private Limited struck gold in AI-driven dynamic creative optimisation, alongside a silver for Laqshya Media Limited.
Creative AI collaboration saw Rediffusion Brand Solutions Private Limited win gold, with Saltinc Consulting Private Limited securing silver. Laqshya Media Limited continued its strong run, taking gold in AI conversation agents and adding multiple wins across categories, including silver in GenAI-led creative and both gold and silver in interactive DOOH campaigns for Tanishq and Tata Coffee.
Predictive AI honours went to Strong Metrics and Tyroo, both silver, while Orient Bell Limited picked up silver in immersive retail tech. In GenAI-led creative, Laqshya Media Limited, Salt – Kotak and Sumimoto each secured silver, reflecting the crowded race in generative creativity.
Publicis bagged silver in influencer management and gold in performance marketing, where it shared the stage with Arm Worldwide and The Trade Desk, both silver. Glad U Came Private Limited stood out with gold in influencer measurement and analytics.
Marketing automation saw CereOne Media Pvt. Ltd. and Globale Media win silver, while ADMOTT Private Limited claimed silver in OTT innovation.
Programmatic media categories highlighted the shift to advanced targeting and connected screens. Mobavenue Media Private Limited clinched gold in connected TV advertising, with Animmoov Digital Media Pvt Ltd – Asus and Lyxel and Flamingo taking silver. Cheggout Services Private Limited won silver in retail media advertising, while Paytm Ads – Versuni secured gold.
On social platforms, Vayner Media India took gold in community and UGC engagement, with Under 25 – Oppo winning silver. Segumento rounded off the list with silver in the innovation category.
Jaswant Singh, country managing director at ad:tech India, underscored the momentum, saying generative AI and data-driven decision-making are now central to marketing impact. Neena Dasgupta, IAA mancom member and chief executive and founder at The Salt Inc Consulting, added that the awards celebrate not just technology, but “the people, the creativity, and the relentless effort behind it.”
Backed by Comexposium Group, ad:tech New Delhi has long tracked digital disruption. Now, with the honours, it is rewarding those who are not just adapting to change but engineering it.
In an industry racing towards automation, the message from 2026 is unmistakable. The future of marketing will be written not just in ideas, but in algorithms.
