The Limelights

Highlighting the events, partnerships, and milestones that made a real impact in 2025

EVENTS

Events & Conferences

Industry leaders and experts came together to share insights on the evolving landscape of media, marketing, and technology. Discussions focused on emerging trends, data-driven strategies, and the growing influence of AI. The sessions encouraged learning, collaboration, and forward-thinking ideas.

Future Forward Digital 2025

Focused on the theme 'Predictions for Digital Advertising 2025', this event explored how cutting-edge technologies, changing consumer behaviors, and regulatory shifts will redefine Programmatic, Native, CTV/OTT, and Performance Marketing sectors.

Panel 1 Programmatic & Native Ads : Future Forward
Suchi Jain, General Manager, Madison World
Dipika Parulekar – Global Head of Partner Marketing| Driving Partner Ecosystem Growth, at Tredence
Siddharth Dabhade - Chief Business officer, Lemma
Ashok Shinde - Vice President - Media & Strategy, PivotRoots
Himanshu Khandelwal, AVP Digital Sales, Axis Mutual Fund
Srikanth Rayapolu - CEO & Founder of AdTech Today
Moderator - Sairam Ranganathan, Chief Digital Officer, Wavemaker India
Keynote Session : Treading the Path of Systematic Curiosity, Moneka Khurana, Country Head & Board Member, MMA Global India
Keynote Session: Retail Media Networks: Transforming the Advertising Landscape
Gulshan Verma, CEO, JioAds
Panel 2 - CTV & OTT : Future Forward
Sujay Ray, Head- Digital & Media - Professional Products Division, L’Oréal
Punit Dharamsi, Senior Vice President - Marketing and Investor Education, AMFI
Jaikishin Chhaproo, Head Media & Brand PR, ITC
Moneka Khurana, Country Head & Board Member, MMA Global India
Moderator - Vikram Chande, National Sales Head Digital, ZEE5
Suruchi M. Kore, Head-Digital & Social Strategies, Bajaj Group
Chinmay Chandratre, Sr. VP - Media, FCB/SIX India
Fireside Chat : CEO TO CEO
Jitin Bhatia - Explurger & Srikanth Rayaprolu - AdTech Today
Panel 3 : Performance Marketing : Future Forward
Akansha Tiwari, Associate Director Of Sales, Trackier
Vishal Sharma, Deputy Vice President - Media Buying, L.S Digital
Kriti Bhuie, Head Performance Marketing & Growth, Traya
Ankur Rathi, Head- DSP, Amazon Ads India
Keval Kothari, Vice President Performance Media, Omnicom Media Group India
Moderator - Nihal Nambiar, SVP - Strategic Solutions & Growth, iProspect
Gandharv Sachdeva, Country Head, India, Hybrid Adtech Pvt. Ltd.
Panel Discussion Powered by Kargo
-MadTech Madness: Where Media, AdTech & Creatives Collide
-Nabajit Nath, Sales Director India, Kargo
-Pratiksha Kale, Senior Marketing Manager, Sun Pharma
-Akhil Nair, CEO, Bigtrunk Communications
-Benedict Hayes, Co Founder, Ethinos
-Vaibhav Jain, Group Head - Media, First Economy
Pritha Mitra DasGupta, CMO at Havas India - Excellence in Driving Business Growth Through Strategic MarCom
Moneka Khurana, Country Head & Board Member, MMA Global India - Excellence in Leading a Trade Body for Growth & Innovation
Gunjit Jain, Executive Vice President at Colgate-Palmolive (India)- Excellence & Spreading Awareness in Oral Healthcare
Abhinav Iyer, Senior General Manager - Marketing & Strategy at The Muthoot Group - Excellence in Purpose-Led Marketing & Brand Leadership
Shwetal Basu, Sr Vice President & Head Brand & Marketing at Polycab Excellence Marketing Communication & Brand Marketing
Tushar Malhotra, CMO at Bisleri International - Excellence in Beverage Marketing & Brand Leadership
Nishant Nayyar, Vice President and Head of Marketing at Kaya Limited - Excellence in Innovative Product and Market strategy
Nilesh Malani, Global CMO and Business Head at Waaree Group - Excellence in Multi-Industry Marketing Leadership
Aditya Oza CEO & Co-Founder at Luxora - ‘Excellence in Entrepreneurial Marketing & Business Innovation
Deepak Oram, Senior Vice President - Growth Marketing & Martech at HDFC BANK - Excellence in Omni-Channel Marketing & Digitalization
Sunita Bangard, Senior Vice President Marketing at Aditya Birla Group ‘Excellence in Consumer Insights & Brand Growth Leadership
Rasika Prashant Soulfull, CMO at Tata Consumer Products Ltd - Excellence in FMCG Leadership & Millet-Based Innovation
Girish Kalra, CMO at TATA AIA - Excellence in Transforming Insurance Engagement
Kuldeep Pawar, CMO at Spice Money - Excellence in Rural Fintech
MGID - Best Native Advertiser Platform 2025
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EMERGE 2025

EMERGE brings together agencies, brands, tech partners, and startups to celebrate impactful creative work. Through awards and thought leadership, it champions innovation, collaboration, and meaningful conversations across the media and marketing ecosystem.

Panel Discussion: Short-Form, Big Impact: Maximizing Engagement Through Bite-Sized Content
Vishnukanth Gokul, Co-Founder & Chief Revenue Office at The Leapfrog Network Brand Consultant
Nikita Malhotra, Head of Digital at Woodland
Naresh Gupta, CSO, Managing Partner at Bang in the Middle
Sindhu Biswal, CEO & Founder at Buzzlab
Megha Marwah, Vice President – Strategy at White Rivers Media
Srikanth Rayapolu, CEO & Founder - AdTech Today
Panel Discussion: Next is Now: How Independent Agencies Are Building the Future
Ishank Joshi, MD & CEO at Mobavenue
Sumon K Chakrabarti, Co-Founder & CEO at Buffalo Soldiers
Tufayl Merchant,Co-Founder & COO at Howl
Sajit Gopal, Media Head at Dominos
Vishnu Sharma, Founder and CEO at Efficacy Worldwide
Sonal Shrivastav, Digital Marketing Head at Kenstar
(Moderator) : Mimi Deb, COO at Madison Media Plus
Panel Discussion: Brands, Bots & Balance Sheets: Cracking Performance Marketing in 2025
Chirag Jagwani, DGM – eCommerce at Fixderma
Sachin Vashishtha, CMO at Paisabazaar
Jainendra Kumar, CEO, Animmoov Digital Media Pvt. Ltd.
Dr. Ashish Bajaj, Group Chief Marketing Officer at Narayan Health
Rahul Pant, Associate Director of Sales at Trackier
Shweta Srivastava, Head of Digital and Omni Channel Marketing at Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories
(Moderator)- Kumar Awanish, Chief Growth officer at Cheil India
Keynote : Ad Fraud 2.0: The Growing Threat of MFA in India Nabajit Nath, Sales Director, India at Kargo and Dr. Kushal Sanghvi, Director at Komerz
Panel Discussion: Unfiltered: What It Really Takes to Run an Independent Agency Today
Srikanth Rayapolu, CEO & Founder - AdTech Today
Pratik Lalani, Co-Founder & Chief Integration Officer at Craywingz
Nasheet Shadani, Founder & Creative Head at Nash8
Manas Gulati, Co-Founder & CEO at #ARM Worldwide
Shubh Bajaj, Co-Founder & Head Of Media at Lyxel&Flamingo (L&F)
Anadi Sah, NCD, Chief Innovation Officer & Founding Partner at tgthr.
(Moderator) Dr. Kushal Sanghvi, Director at Komerz
Neha Khullar, Head of Marketing - DGM at Kenstar
Srikanth Rayapolu, CEO & Founder - AdTech Today
Ishank Joshi, MD & CEO at Mobavenue
Gandharv Sachdeva, Country Head, India, Hybrid Adtech Pvt. Ltd.
Karanbir Bhatia, Senior Partner, Yugo Capital
Tony Stany, Group Brand & Marketing Lead at 129Knots
Sayak Mukherjee, Co-founder at Creatorcults Media
Srikanth Rayapolu, CEO & Founder - AdTech Today
K.V Sridhar (Pops), Global Chief Creative Officer at Nihilent @Emerge Awards
The Rising Star Agency of the Year - Gold
Animmoov Digital Media Pvt. Ltd.Team with Jury Chairs, sDr. Kushal Sanghvi, Director at Komerz and K.V Sridhar (Pops), Global Chief Creative Officer at Nihilent.
Best Independent Agency of the year 2025 - TriVayu Media Works Team with Jury Chairs, Dr. Kushal Sanghvi, Director at Komerz and K.V Sridhar (Pops), Global Chief Creative Officer at Nihilent.
Pack of Winners in Emerge 2025
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MILESTONE

2. Milestones & Achievements

Adtech Today Expands Globally with Its Middle East Edition

We are thrilled to announce the launch of Adtech Today Middle East (adtechtodayme.com), marking a significant milestone in delivering advertising and marketing insights to a global audience.

CULTURE

Culture, Festive Moments & Employee Highlights

Celebrating our vibrant culture — from festive moments like Ganpati, Dussehra, and Diwali to highlighting the dedication, creativity, and achievements of our incredible team members. From employee highlights to joyful celebrations, this section captures the people and moments that make our workplace truly special.

Stepping into a new space, AdTech Today is ready for new stories.
A fresh start for AdTech Today, and many stories waiting to be told.
Celebrating Holi with colour, warmth, and fresh beginnings.
Colours, laughter, and a little moment that means a lot.
Honour in our hearts, new beginnings on our minds.
Diwali sparkles and new beginnings, AdTech Today celebrates the journey.
Cheers to the men shaping today and tomorrow, with AdTech Today.
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PRESS

Press

A quick snapshot of the ideas that shaped this conversation.

As part of our year-end recap, we revisit the shifts that shaped the industry this year.
In this edition, Moneka Khurana offers an inside view of MMA Global’s evolution into the Marketing + Media Alliance
From performance to purpose. From AI to empathy. Pops breaks down where creativity is headed next.
The future of sales is simple: educate, don’t just pitch. Raushida explains why.
Depth over duration. Intent over noise. A conversation with Sonam Pradhan on modern media leadership.
From brand custodian to brand creator — Rasika Prashant on building brands that matter daily.
Performance marketing isn’t broken — it’s evolving.
A sharp take by Sindhu Biswal, CEO & Founder of Buzzlab, on why the old playbooks don’t work anymore.
A former CMO turned Coach, Samyukta Iyer invites brands to slow down, honour the season, and create work the lamps will remember.
The story of iCubesWire is a reminder that brands grow when leaders evolve and when purpose leads the way
Emojis have become Gen Z’s cultural code. This story explores how brands are tapping into it with nuance and creativity.
Prashant Choudhari reflects on how fraud awareness grows stronger when trust, community and everyday communication work together.
A look at how AI is sharpening festive strategy without losing the heart and emotion that make seasonal storytelling work.
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