MAM
Prasanth Kumar re-elected as president of AAAI
Mumbai: GroupM Media (India) CEO – South Asia Prasanth Kumar was re-elected as the President of Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) for the year 2024-25 at its Annual General Body Meeting held in Mumbai.
Havas India, South East & North Asia (Japan & South Korea) group CEO Rana Barua was unanimously elected Vice-President of the Association.
Other elected members of the Board in alphabetical order are:
Madison Communications Pvt Ltd Sam Balsara Madison
Everest Brand Solutions Pvt Ltd Tanya Goyal
BEI Confluence Communication Ltd Tapas Gupta
Matrix Publicities and Media India Pvt Ltd Vishandas Hardasani
Havas Media India Pvt Ltd Mohit Joshi
Innocean Worldwide Communications Pvt Ltd Santosh Kumar
Crayons Advertising Pvt Ltd Kunal Lalani
Kinnect Pvt Ltd Rohan Mehta
Advertising Works Pvt Ltd, Cochin Chandramouli Muthu Maitri
Platinum Advertising Pvt Ltd Vikram Sakhuja
Standard Publicity Pvt Ltd Kalyan Sarkar
Advertising Pvt Ltd, Hyderabad, K Srinivas Sloka
Immediate past president, Anupriya Acharya will be the ex-officio member of the AAAI Board for 2024-25.
On this occasion, Kumar said, “I am deeply honoured by the trust AAAI members have placed in me for another term as President of this distinguished institution. Our commitment to championing innovation, upholding the highest standards of planning and creativity, and building on the momentum we have achieved remains unwavering. Our goal is to provide steadfast support to the entire ecosystem, helping the industry navigate challenges and seize new opportunities. With the exceptional team of AAAI members and the broader ecosystem, I am confident we will continue to shape the future of our industry to greater heights.”
Prasanth Kumar is a GroupM veteran having worked in the organisation in various capacities for over 20 years in his overall experience of over two decades in advertising. He has also worked at Pepsi, The Hindu, The Media Edge & McCann Erickson prior to joining GroupM. He has also been Vice President of AAAI during 2020-22.
On his appointment as vice president, Barua said “Being appointed Vice President of AAAI for the third time is both an honor and a testament to the trust the industry places in me. I look forward to continuing our efforts in driving innovation and excellence in advertising while supporting the growth of this dynamic industry.”
Some experienced persons will be inducted on the Board of AAAI and more positions filled up later on to make the Board broad-based.
Brands
Dabur buys minority stake in Ras Beauty for Rs 60 crore
Dabur Ventures deal backs fast-growing luxury skincare brand
MUMBAI: Dabur India Limited has dipped into the world of luxury skincare, signing a definitive agreement to acquire a minority stake in Ras Beauty Private Limited for Rs 60 crore. The investment marks the first bet from Dabur Ventures, the FMCG major’s Rs 500 crore platform set up in October 2025 to back high-potential, new-age direct-to-consumer brands.
Founded in Raipur by Shubhika Jain, her sister Suramya Jain and their mother Sangeeta Jain, Ras Beauty has grown from a family-led passion project into a fast-scaling “Farm-to-Face” skincare label. Its range of face elixirs, serums and moisturisers blends essential oils with nature-derived actives, striking a balance between botanical purity and laboratory precision.
The numbers tell their own story. Ras has clocked a three-year Cagr of around 75 per cent and an annual run rate of approximately Rs 100 crore, all while maintaining strong gross margins. That growth has been fuelled by a digital-first approach, in-house R&D and manufacturing, and a sharp focus on clean, sustainable sourcing.
Dabur India executive director and group head corporate strategy Abhinav Dhall, said the company was drawn to Ras’s distinct positioning at the intersection of nature, science and luxury. He added that the premium beauty segment is poised for robust expansion over the coming decade, and that Ras is well placed to capture that opportunity.
For Ras, the partnership is as much about scale as it is about shared philosophy. Co-founder and CEO Shubhika Jain said Dabur’s 141-year legacy of building trusted, purpose-led brands makes it a natural ally. The capital infusion, she noted, will help accelerate the brand’s omnichannel footprint, deepen research capabilities and invest in team and brand building, with an eye on establishing Ras as a leading Indian luxury skincare name both domestically and overseas.
With this move, Dabur is not just investing in a skincare label. It is placing an early wager on India’s growing appetite for premium, conscious beauty, and signalling that heritage FMCG players are ready to play in the new-age D2C arena.
