The Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA), the apex body representing advertisers in India for more than 70 years, has announced the appointment of Atul Agrawal as its Chief Executive Officer, effective January 2, 2026.
Agrawal steps into the role with close to four decades of leadership experience across India’s leading corporate organisations. His career reflects deep expertise in brand building, media strategy, corporate communications, and cross-functional leadership, positioning him well to steer ISA during a period of rapid change in the marketing and media ecosystem.
Commenting on his appointment, Atul Agrawal, CEO, ISA said: “It is an honour to lead ISA at a time when marketing and media are undergoing such profound transformation. Having witnessed the evolution of brands, consumers, and technology over the years, I believe ISA’s role as the collective voice of advertisers is more crucial than ever.”
He further added, “My focus will be on driving responsible, effective, and efficient marketing through collaboration with entire ecosystem of advertisers, agencies, broadcasters/media owners and other stakeholders. Together, we will strive to strengthen ISA’s charter around media transparency and measurement, among others.”
An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, Agrawal has built a distinguished career across the FMCG and corporate sectors. His professional journey includes leadership roles at Hindustan Lever and the Tata Group headquarters, where he worked on corporate brand marketing, youth engagement initiatives, media buying strategies, and large-scale sponsorship programmes.
Agrawal has also been closely associated with ISA in the past, serving on its Executive Committee as a representative of Tata Services. Additionally, he has contributed at a global level as a jury member for the World Federation of Advertisers’ (WFA) Global Marketer of the Year award.
Welcoming the appointment, Sunil Kataria, Chairman, ISA, said, “Atul’s appointment comes at an important inflection point for the industry. His extensive leadership experience across the Tata Group and Hindustan Lever, coupled with his long-standing association with ISA, uniquely positions him to accelerate our agenda of building robust & transparent industry standards, enhancing advertiser support, and driving efficiency & effectiveness in advertising. With ISA leading critical initiatives like the Media Charter, Brand Safety, Viewability, First-Party Data frameworks, and Cross-Screen Measurement, Atul’s strategic and operational acumen will play a vital role in translating these into tangible value for advertisers.”
