Portfolio Night India returns for fifth edition with top creative leaders

MUMBAI: For young creatives, the portfolio is about to get its biggest reality check. The One Club for Creativity, in collaboration with Omnicom Advertising India, is bringing the fifth edition of Portfolio Night to India, giving emerging talent a chance to put their ideas in front of some of the country’s leading creative minds.

The event will be held virtually on October 8 and in person in Mumbai on October 9, with registrations closing on October 3, 2026. The programme is designed as a mentorship and talent-discovery platform where budding creatives can present their work, receive direct feedback and connect with senior creative leaders from across the advertising industry.

Portfolio Night goes beyond the usual show-and-tell. Participants will take part in one-on-one sessions with creative leaders, who will assess and score their portfolios as jurors, while the creative heads themselves get an opportunity to spot emerging talent and potential future colleagues.

The stakes extend beyond a few minutes of feedback. The participant with the winning portfolio will become eligible for Portfolio Night All-Stars, a week-long virtual programme bringing together winners from different markets.

The selected creatives will work in teams on a brief from a major global brand, turning the individual portfolio challenge into a collaborative international creative exercise. At the end of the week, each team will present its pitch, with the winning team earning a trip to New York, where The One Club will host a week of events and networking opportunities.

That makes the Indian edition more than a talent showcase. For participants, it offers a route from presenting work to competing on a global brief and potentially taking their ideas to one of the world’s major creative hubs.

Josy Paul, CCO, BBDO Group India, and Chairman, BBDO India, said Portfolio Night represents the courage involved in putting an idea out into the world. He encouraged young creatives to bring their work, questions and even unfinished thoughts, rather than waiting until they feel completely ready.

Rahul Mathew, Chief Creative Officer, McCann India, described the initiative as a long-standing commitment to talent. He said the opportunity for young creatives to receive feedback from senior creative leaders can provide reassurance, while also giving industry heads confidence that new talent continues to enter the creative ecosystem.

Russell Barrett, Chief Creative Experience Officer, TBWA\Lintas, said Portfolio Night is an opportunity to discover new ideas, voices and people who could shape the industry’s future.

The comments reflect the dual purpose of the programme: it is both a mentoring exercise for young creatives and a talent hunt for agencies looking for the next generation of advertising thinkers and makers.

The 2026 jury panel brings together creative leaders from agencies, independent consultancies and design businesses across India’s advertising landscape.

The panel includes Abhijit Avasthi, Founder, Sideways Consulting; Adarsh Atal, Chief Creative Officer, Tilt Brand Solutions; Anupama Ramaswamy, Managing Director and CCO, Havas India; Anusheela Saha, Head of Creative, McCann India; Arun Iyer, Founder and Creative Partner, Spring Marketing Capital; and Ashish Chakravarty, Managing Partner and Chief Creative Officer, Garage Worldwide.

The panel also features Chandni Samaria, Senior Executive Creative Director, Saatchi & Saatchi India; Hemant Shringy, Chief Creative Officer and Managing Partner, Wondrlab India; Hetal Ajmera, Co-Founder and Chief Design Officer, Sharpener Design Studio; Josy Paul; Kainaz Karmakar, Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy; Kapil Batra, President – Creative, TBWA\Lintas; and Krishna Mani, National Creative Director, BBDO Group India.

Other jurors include Mayuresh Dubhashi, Chief Creative Officer, Saatchi & Saatchi India; Neville Shah, Chief Creative Officer, Kinnect; Nilay Moonje, Creative Head and Executive Creative Director, Sideways Consulting; Nitin Pradhan, Creative Head, Leo India; Parikshit Bhattaccharya, Chief Creative Officer, BBH India + Propagate India; Pooja Manek, Creative and Founding Member, Talented; and Pragati Rana, Founding Partner, TGTHR.

The panel further includes Radhika Dhuru, Executive Creative Director, Open Strategy & Design; Rahul Mathew; Rohit Dubey, Senior Executive Creative Director, Ogilvy; Russell Barrett; Sandipan Bhattacharyya, Chief Creative Officer, Monks India; Sachin Kamble, Chief Creative Officer, Leo India; Sarvesh Raikar, President – Creative, TBWA\Lintas; Shyam Nair, Executive Creative Director, 22feet; Sindhu Sharma, National Creative Director, Enormous Brands; Sonal Chhajerh, National Creative Director, Leo India; Souvik Datta, National Creative Director, BBDO Group India; Shriram Iyer, Co-founder, ZeroFifty Mediaworks; Vasudha Misra, President – Creative, TBWA\Lintas; and Vishnu Srivatsav, Chief Creative Experience Officer, 22feet.

Several jury members will participate virtually, while the Mumbai edition will bring a large group of the country’s senior creative talent together in person.

For young creatives, the appeal of the programme lies in the directness of the format. Rather than sending a portfolio into the recruitment ether, participants get the opportunity to explain their thinking, defend their ideas and hear from people who have spent years turning creative concepts into campaigns and brands.

The format also reflects how the advertising industry increasingly evaluates talent. A portfolio is no longer simply a collection of finished campaigns; it can reveal how someone thinks, solves a brief and responds when an idea is challenged.

With Portfolio Night All-Stars providing a global follow-on opportunity, the fifth Indian edition is also designed to connect local creative talent with an international network.

Registrations for the 2026 edition close on October 3, ahead of the virtual event on October 8 and the Mumbai session on October 9. For participants, the message is simple: bring the work, bring the questions and, perhaps most importantly, bring the idea that might just turn a portfolio into a career.