AD Agencies
Prasanth Kumar re-elected president of AAAI
Mumbai: Group M Media (India) Pvt Ltd South Asia Prasanth Kumar, was re-elected as President of the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) for the year 2023-24 at the Annual General Meeting of AAAI held on 1 December.
Havas Worldwide India CEO Rana Barua was unanimously elected vice-president of the association.
Other elected members of the Board in alphabetical order are:
Sam Balsara (Madison Communications Pvt Ltd)
Tanya Goyal (Everest Brand Solutions Pvt Ltd)
Vishandas Hardasani (Matrix Publicities and Media India Pvt Ltd)
Mohit Joshi (Havas Media India Pvt Ltd)
Kunal Lalani (Crayons Advertising Ltd)
Chandramouli Muthu (Maitri Advertising Works Pvt Ltd)
Sridhar Ramasubramanian (Beehive Communications Pvt Ltd)
Vikram Sakhuja (Platinum Advertising Pvt Ltd)
K Srinivas (Sloka Advertising Pvt Ltd)
Publicis Group South Asia chief executive Anupriya Acharya will be the ex-officio member of the AAAI Board for 2023-24 as AAAI’s immediate past president.
On this occasion, Kumar said, “I am deeply grateful to the members of the AAAI for re electing me as President, a role I accept with great honor and responsibility. Our collective vision is to strengthen an inclusive environment, actively engaging with all stakeholders to shape a dynamic and future-ready organization. Our commitment is steadfast in strengthening unwavering support for every member, recognizing that while we have achieved few milestones together, there is still a considerable journey ahead. This prospect excites us; it fuels our motivation. When we collaborate and exert our combined efforts, we not only enhance each year for everyone involved but also solidify our resolve to be architects of change within our industry. We stand dedicated to not just witnessing but actively creating a transformative era, steering our organization towards new horizons of innovation and impact.”
On his appointment as vice president, Barua said, “I am passionate about policymaking that leads to impactful and positive changes to the advertising industry, that benefit all the stakeholders, including, media, consumers, and advertising agencies. I believe in the potential of advertising to foster economic development and enhance meaningful social changes. I look forward to collaborating with the AAAI members to bring these shared goals to life.”
MUMBAI: Mar-tech network Wondrlab Network is in talks to acquire advertising major Madison World, according to media reports, in a move that could reshape India’s agency landscape.
In a statement shared with Social Samosa, Wondrlab Network founder and CEO Saurabh Varma, confirmed that the group is actively evaluating acquisition opportunities but declined to confirm any specific transaction.
“We have consistently stated that Wondrlab is building for scale, and acquisitions remain an important part of that strategy. We are in discussions with multiple companies across capabilities that strengthen our platform-first, full-funnel marketing and technology offering. Any development will be communicated at the appropriate time,” Varma said.
Wondrlab has pursued acquisitions as part of an ambitious plan to buy 26 agencies across three phases. In 2025, it completed its seventh acquisition, underscoring its appetite for inorganic growth.
According to reports, Madison founder Sam Balsara is seeking around Rs 1,000 crore for the agency. If the Wondrlab deal goes through, it would rank as the largest acquisition of an Indian agency by another Indian agency.
Wondrlab was launched in November 2020 by Saurabh Varma, Vandana Varma, and Rakesh Hinduja. Its first acquisition followed swiftly with the December 2020 purchase of Amit Akali’s creative shop, What’s Your Problem.
Since then, the group has steadily expanded its footprint. It acquired influencer marketing firm Opportune and performance marketing agency Neon in 2022. In 2023, it bought Salesforce consultancy and data analytics firm Cymetrix, alongside Poland-based WebTalk, marking its entry into Europe. It later added influencer marketing agency OPA and, last year, took a majority stake in BigStep Technologies, a generative AI and cloud-native software firm.
Madison, meanwhile, has long been a target for global advertising groups. Over the years, it has drawn interest from WPP, Publicis Groupe and Dentsu. In May 2025, Havas was reported to be the frontrunner, with an offer of about Rs 700 crore for a majority stake.
Earlier talks with WPP in 2015, when Madison was valued at roughly Rs 500 crore, collapsed over valuation and equity differences. Discussions with Publicis and Dentsu also failed to yield a deal.
