AD Agencies
Vanita Keswani steps away from Madison after 30 years
MUMBAI: After nearly three decades of shaping Indian media buying and strategy, Vanita Keswani has called time on her long and influential innings at Madison World.
Keswani, who has been CEO of Madison Media Sigma since 2015, exits the group after a career that mirrors the modern evolution of India’s media industry itself. Calm, commercial and quietly formidable, she has been one of the most recognisable leadership faces within the Madison network.
Her Madison story began in 1995, when she joined as an account manager on the Coca-Cola business. Over the next twenty years, she rose steadily through the ranks, handling marquee accounts such as Godrej Consumer, leading large client portfolios as business director and general manager, and eventually being named COO in 2012. Three years later, she was elevated to CEO, taking full charge of Madison Media Sigma’s growth agenda.
As CEO, Keswani steered the agency through a period of rapid change, balancing traditional media strengths with an increasing focus on digital growth and innovation. She managed the company’s P&L, led the core business development and training teams, and played a central role in driving media solutions that delivered tangible business results for clients.
Her tenure was marked by consistent new business wins, strong organic growth from existing clients and a steady stream of industry accolades. Under her leadership, Madison Media Sigma teams picked up awards across platforms such as the Emvies, Abbys, Prime Time Awards, OACs and Golden Mikes. Keswani herself was recognised among Impact magazine’s Top 50 Most Influential Women in Media.
Beyond the boardroom, she has been a visible industry voice, regularly serving as a panelist and moderator at advertising and marketing forums. She is also a visiting faculty member at postgraduate institutes, sharing practical leadership lessons shaped by decades on the frontlines of media.
Her professional grounding was built early, with stints at Bennett Coleman and Co, where she worked in sales and marketing for Times FM, and earlier as product manager for flagship magazines such as Femina and Filmfare. Along the way, she invested in leadership development through programmes at ISB and with global leadership thinkers.
With her departure, Madison closes a significant chapter in its history. Keswani leaves behind a legacy defined not by noise, but by consistency, clarity and results. In an industry that thrives on constant change, her career stands as proof that steady leadership can still make the loudest impact.
AD Agencies
AdTrust Summit 2026 to examine trust, AI and Gen Alpha in advertising
Two-day summit in Mumbai to explore ethics, regulation and the future of advertising trust
MUMBAI: At a time when advertising is navigating a delicate trust deficit, the Advertising Standards Council of India is preparing to bring the industry to the table. On 17 and 18 March, the body will host the inaugural AdTrust Summit 2026 in Mumbai, a two-day gathering designed to spark conversation around responsibility, regulation and credibility in modern advertising.
The summit, to be held at the Jio World Convention Centre in Bandra Kurla Complex, will bring together leaders from advertising, media, technology and policy to examine how brands can build trust in a marketplace increasingly shaped by algorithms, influencers and artificial intelligence.
In an age of deepfakes, dark patterns and blurred lines between content and commerce, the question is no longer just how brands capture attention, but whether audiences believe what they see. The AdTrust Summit aims to unpack that challenge.
Day one will turn its attention to the youngest digital natives. Titled Decoding Gen Alpha, the session will unveil ‘What the Sigma?’, a study by ASCI and Futurebrands Consulting that explores how children growing up in a hyper-digital environment encounter advertising and commercial messaging.
The report presentation will be delivered by Santosh Desai, founder and director at Think9 Consumer Technologies and a social commentator known for his insights into consumer behaviour. The discussion that follows will attempt to decode how Gen Alpha consumes media, interacts with brands and navigates the growing overlap between entertainment and marketing.
In a move that mirrors the subject itself, two Gen Alpha students will also join the conversation, offering a rare perspective from the generation advertisers are trying to understand.
The second panel of the day will shift the focus from observation to implication, asking what the report’s findings mean for brands, agencies and society. Speakers include Karthik Srinivasan, communications strategy consultant; Preeti Vyas, president at Mythik; and Abigail Dias, associate president planning at Ogilvy. The session will be moderated by Sonali Krishna, editor at ET Brand Equity.
Day two moves from insight to regulation. Under the theme From Compliance to Trust, ASCI will release its Ad Law Compendium, a comprehensive guide to India’s advertising regulations.
The day will open with a keynote by Sudhanshu Vats, chairman at ASCI and managing director at Pidilite Industries, followed by a chief guest address by Sanjay Jaju, secretary at the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
Legal experts from Khaitan & Co., including Haigreve Khaitan, senior partner, and Tanu Banerjee, partner, will present an overview of the current advertising law landscape in India and examine whether existing frameworks are equipped to deal with emerging technologies and formats.
Subsequent panels will explore issues increasingly shaping the industry’s ethical compass. Conversations will range from the limits of persuasive design and the rise of dark patterns, to the growing scrutiny brands face from digital creators and consumer watchdogs.
One session will also feature Revant Himatsingka, widely known online as the Food Pharmer, whose critiques of packaged food brands have sparked debate around transparency and corporate accountability.
Later discussions will turn toward media literacy among Gen Alpha, asking how children can be equipped to navigate a digital world where gaming, content and commerce are becoming indistinguishable.
The summit will conclude with a final panel on the future of advertising, bringing together voices from agencies, legal circles and technology platforms to discuss how innovation, intelligence and integrity can coexist.
For an industry built on persuasion, trust has always been its quiet currency. But as audiences grow more sceptical and digital ecosystems more complex, that currency is under pressure.
Events like the AdTrust Summit suggest the advertising world knows it cannot afford to take credibility for granted. The real challenge now is turning conversation into commitment.
