The International Advertising Association’s (IAA) India Chapter has announced the winners for the fifth edition of the coveted Leadership Awards at Trident Hotel, Mumbai today. Powered by COLORS, the prestigious event was flagged off by Reliance Industries chairman & MD, Mukesh Ambani and Deputy Minister of the diplomacy, PM’s office, Government of Israel, Dr. Michael Oren. Creating another momentous occasion at the awards was the unveiling of the book “Gandhi – The Great Communicator. The awards saw leaders representing advertising, marketing and media honored by a group of pre-eminent guests.
The Awards ceremony, which was held on Saturday, October 7, 2017 in Mumbai, saw industry veteran Mr. Srinivasan Swamy, Chairman and Managing Director, RK Swamy BBDO Pvt. Ltd inducted into the Hall of Fame Awards. The IAA Media Agency Leader and Creative Agency Leader Award went to Vikram Sakhuja, Madison Communications Pvt. Ltd. and Sonal Dabral, Ogilvy India, respectively. The coveted IAA Media Leader Award went to Rajan Anandan, Google while Mukesh Ambani, Chairman & MD of Reliance Industries, was adjudged as the IAA Business Leader of the Year.
Excellence in Journalism was celebrated with Rahul Joshi, Network18 News winning the IAA Editorial Leader award and Shereen Bhan, CNBC-TV18 winning the IAA Leader – TV Anchor of the year. The Brand Endorsement Leader award went to Amitabh Bachchan and Alia Bhatt.
On being awarded the Business Leader of the Year award, Mukesh Ambani, Chairman & MD of Reliance Industries said, “On behalf of all of us at Reliance Industries, we would like to thank the jury and IAA for this recognition. I believe leadership is about setting new standards as demonstrated by our team at Jio. India was 155th in mobile broadband rankings in the world when we launched Jio but in a year, it became number 1 in the world. India is becoming a mobile first country and this is the future of our young nation.”
Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Ramesh Narayan, newly elected President of IAA said, “We are privileged to have Shri Mukesh Ambani and Dy. Minister of Diplomacy, PM’s Office, Government of Israel Michael Orren with us. IAA Leadership Awards 2017 has been a memorable event thanks to the distinguished guests, esteemed jury and an exhaustive list of quantitative and qualitative parameters that have helped recognize outstanding campaigns and we have cherished our partnership with COLORS.”
Speaking of his maiden visit to India, Deputy Minister of the Diplomacy, PM’s office, Government of Israel, Dr. Michael Oren, said “India is revered, respected and loved by the people of Israel. Both countries are the cradle of great civilizations and religions. I can think of no two countries in the world that have had a greater impact on history and art. I would like to extend an invite to every Indian to visit Israel and experience our love for India and our hospitality.”
Speaking about Colors association with the awards, Mr. Raj Nayak, COO, Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd said, “We have been associated with the IAA Leadership Awards since inception and are happy to see it grow in size and stature year after year. As a leader in the media and entertainment space, we feel privileged to partner with The International Advertising Association in recognizing and rewarding leaders in our country.”
Winner List – 5th Edition of the IAA Leadership Awards 2017
| Sr No | CATEGORY NAME | WINNER NAME |
| 1 | IAA Business Leader | Mukesh Ambani, Chairman & MD, Reliance Industries Limited |
| 2 | IAA Hall of Fame | Srinivasan Swamy, R K Swamy BBDO Pvt Ltd |
| 3 | IAA Media Agency Leader | Vikram Sakhuja, Madison Communications Pvt. Ltd. |
| 4 | IAA Creative Agency Leader | Sonal Dabral, DDB Mudra Group, India |
| 5 | IAA Media Leader | Rajan Anandan, Google |
| 6 | IAA Editorial Leader | Rahul Joshi, Network18 News |
| 7 | IAA Leader – TV Anchor | Shereen Bhan, CNBC-TV18 |
| 8 | IAA Brand Endorsement Leader | Amitabh Bachchan |
| 9 | IAA Brand Endorsement Leader | Alia Bhatt |
| 10 | Marketer of the Year – Home Improvement | Amit Syngle, President – Sales & Marketing
Asian Paints Ltd. |
| 11 | Marketer of the Year – Banking | Ashish Marone, Head Marketing Communication, HDFC Bank Ltd. |
| 12 | Marketer of the Year – Insurance | Shiv Prabhat, Executive Director
– Micro Insurance Life Insurance Corporation of India |
| 13 | Marketer of the Year – FMCG -Food | Kishore Jhala
Chief Operating Officer, GCMMF(Amul) |
| 14 | Marketer of the Year – Consumer Durables – Electronics | Ranjivjit Singh, Sr. VP Marketing
Samsung India Electronics Pvt. Ltd |
| 15 | Marketer of the Year – Consumer Durables – Others | Ranjivjit Singh, Sr. VP Marketing
Samsung India Electronics Pvt. Ltd |
| 16 | Marketer of the Year – Auto (Two Wheelers) | Y S Guleria,
Vice President – MarketingHonda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. |
| 17 | Marketer of the Year – Auto (Four Wheelers) | Randhir Singh Kalsi,
Sr Executive Director- Marketing&Sales Maruti Suzuki India Ltd |
| 18 | Marketer of the Year – E-Commerce | Ravi Desai, CMO
Amazon India Seller Service Pvt Ltd |
| 19 | Marketer of the Year – FMCG -Beverages | Anjana Ghosh, Director Marketing
Bisleri International Pvt Ltd |
| 20 | Marketer of the Year – FMCG – Homecare | Pradeep Wadekar
Head Sales – Western Region , RSPL Limited |
| 21 | Marketer of the Year – FMCG – Personal care | Shalini Raghavan, CMO
L’Oréal India Pvt. Ltd |
| 22 | Marketer of the Year – Retail | Pawan Sarda, Group Head – Gigital
Future Retail Limited |
| 23 | Marketer of the Year – Mobile Devices | Ranjivjit Singh, Sr. VP Marketing
Samsung India Electronics Pvt. Ltd |
| 24 | Marketer of the Year – Telecom | Adarsh Verma – Head Marketing,Bharti Airtel Ltd. |
