IAA Leadership Awards honour India's top business, media and creative leaders

The International Advertising Association (IAA) India Chapter hosted the 13th edition of the IAA Leadership Awards in Mumbai, bringing together more than 250 leaders from business, marketing, advertising, media and entertainment.

Held under the theme ‘The Power of Balance’, the awards recognised leaders who have navigated complexity, embraced change and balanced competing priorities while creating meaningful impact.

The theme reflected the changing demands of leadership, where business performance must increasingly coexist with purpose, technology with creativity, and data with inclusion. The awards highlighted the ability to bring these priorities together into a responsible and coherent leadership approach.

Maharashtra Governor stresses ethics in advertising

Maharashtra Governor Jishnu Dev Varma, the chief guest, said the advertising, media and marketing industries play an important role beyond promoting products.

“The advertising, media, and marketing industry occupies a unique position. It does not merely promote products, it shapes aspirations, influences consumer behavior, drives innovation, and strengthens brands that contribute to the nation’s economic growth,” Varma said.

He said artificial intelligence and data-driven marketing were transforming how brands engage with consumers, making creativity and innovation more important.

At the same time, Varma stressed the need for truthfulness, transparency and ethics in advertising. He said successful brands were those that built trust, respected consumers and contributed positively to society.

IAA highlights changing meaning of leadership

Nandini Dias, Chairperson of the IAA Leadership Awards, said leadership was becoming harder to define as the world changed.

“Balance is not compromise. Balance is not standing in the middle—it is having the wisdom to hold opposing truths at the same time and being very decisive about both,” she said.

Abhishek Karnani, President of the IAA India Chapter, said the organisation's focus was on AI, skilling and conversation.

He said the IAA aimed to help the industry use artificial intelligence effectively, build skills for the next generation of marketers and creative leaders, and create spaces for important industry conversations.

Dilip Shanghvi receives top business honour

Dilip Shanghvi, Founder and Managing Director of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, received the IAA Business Leader of the Year 2026 award.

The honour recognised his leadership in building one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies and his contribution to making high-quality, affordable medicines accessible to millions of patients globally.

Shanghvi said he drew satisfaction from the success of his team and stressed the importance of creating an environment that attracts, retains and values good people.

Creative industry veteran Neeraj Roy, Founder of Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, was inducted into the IAA Hall of Fame for his contribution to advertising, digital and creative industries.

Actor Sidharth Malhotra was named IAA Brand Endorser of the Year 2026, recognising his brand associations, authenticity and influence among younger audiences.

Media and creative leaders recognised

Rahul Kanwal of NDTV received the IAA Media Person of the Year Award for his contribution to India's evolving media ecosystem.

Babita Baruah of VML was named IAA Creative Agency Head of the Year, while Kartik Sharma of Omnicom Media received the IAA Media Agency Head of the Year award.

Industry veteran Sam Balsara received the IAA Force for Good Award for actions that created an impact beyond the marketing and communications industry.

Awards recognise leaders across sectors

The awards also recognised leadership across key industries.

Nalinikanth Gollagunta, CEO of the Automotive Division at Mahindra & Mahindra, received the IAA Leader of the Year – Auto Passenger Vehicles (EV + UV) award.

Jayen Mehta, Managing Director of Amul (GCMMF), was named IAA Leader of the Year – FMCG (Food), while Anil G. Verma, Executive Director and CEO of Godrej & Boyce, received the Consumer Durables honour.

Mohit Malhotra, Global CEO of Dabur India, was recognised as IAA Leader of the Year – Pharma (Consumer Health). Aniruddha Haldar, Senior Vice President – Marketing at TVS Motor Company, received the Auto (Two Wheelers + EV) award.

Sunil Dhar, CEO of Red Bull India, was named IAA Leader of the Year – FMCG (Beverages).

The awards were evaluated by a jury chaired by Prabha Narasimhan, Managing Director and CEO of Colgate-Palmolive (India).

The jury included senior leaders such as Jayant Acharya of JSW Steel, Kavita Chaturvedi of ITC, Pradeep Dwivedi of Eros Media World, Gurmit Singh of Quora India, Himanshu Chakrawarti of Stellaro Brand, Atul Shinghal of Scripbox Wealth Managers and Sanjay Jain of PDS Limited.

The jury members were felicitated during the event for their contribution to the awards process.