The great Adland shuffle: Who will lead Indian advertising’s next era?

The corridors of Indian advertising are in flux. The past year has seen layoffs, mergers, and regulatory scrutiny tear through the country’s most powerful agency networks. But beneath the headlines of Omnicom’s near-finished acquisition of Interpublic Group (IPG) and the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) investigations, another quieter storm is brewing: a generational leadership shift.

Read more: Consolidation or Collision? How ad land’s mergers create crisis of overlapping of leadership roles

Across holding groups and creative shops, some of the most familiar names in Indian advertising and larger-than-life personalities, are preparing to pass the baton. Piyush Pandey, the face of Ogilvy India for decades, has already stepped back from active day-to-day operations. Shashi Sinha, the longtime IPG Mediabrands India CEO, is widely regarded as the media industry’s elder statesman and is planning a phased exit. Leaders such as Sam Balsara (Madison) and Prasoon Joshi (McCann Worldgroup) represent an era that has dominated adland’s boardrooms, festivals, and client strategies for over two decades.

Many of these leaders who once defined Indian adland for two decades- steering its most iconic campaigns, commanding sprawling P&Ls, and cementing legacy agency cultures- are preparing to step back.

Meanwhile, consolidation has not only overlapped mandates and roles, but also exposed fault lines in leadership succession planning.

Quietly, every large agency network is preparing for a transition. But what comes next? Who defines the future leader of Indian adland- the classic creative storyteller, the tech-fluent data strategist, the values-driven builder, or some hybrid of all three?

Industry watchers warn that a wholesale transition is coming. The familiar faces who have long run the show may soon be gone.

“One of the gravest challenges confronting our industry - particularly within large network structures- is the stifling of natural leadership,” says Abhik Santara, CEO and Director of ^a t o m network. “Even agencies once regarded as institutions are beginning to falter. The absence of structured roadmaps or well-defined career trajectories for leadership development has left talent planning largely ad hoc.”

Read more: Layoffs in Adland: Omnicom's acquisition of IPG nears finish line. But at what human cost?

Vibhor Yadav, Regional Creative Officer and Founding Partner at tgthr sees this larger-than-life leadership style bowing out as a very natural evolution. This exodus is not a crisis. It’s a cultural shift, long overdue.

"How long can you hold on to the same set of names?"

But what this slow fade of traditional leadership has revealed is that agencies have, for too long, prioritized client deadlines and pitches, while delaying the important task of nurturing the next generation.

There is no vacuum; talent is there. But so is neglect, points out Yadav.

"What agencies didn’t do for years now needs to be done in months: pushing new leaders forward."

End of an era- or just a reset?

For decades, India’s ad ecosystem has leaned heavily on a small circle of legacy leaders.

From creative powerhouses to global holding group executives, the same names dominated headlines, award juries, and client boardrooms. That grip is loosening.

“It does feel like the curtain is coming down on a two-decade-long leadership era,” says Mithila Saraf, CEO of Famous Innovations. “Agencies have leaned heavily on this small circle for far too long, and while some grooming has happened, it hasn’t been systematic. The danger is a leadership vacuum, though I’d say the talent is there- it just needs opportunities, trust, and platforms to step up.”

Read more: Are megalithic advertising holdcos killing agencies?

But others see less of a vacuum and more of a generational reset.

Himanshu Arora, Co-Founder of Social Panga, argues: “This isn’t a vacuum, it’s a relay baton moment. The next set of leaders is already running, shaping businesses every day, they just need to be recognised and given the platform.”

Nagessh Pannaswami, Founder of Curry Nation, takes the point further: “The real risk is not a leadership vacuum, but a mindset vacuum. Too much of the industry has trained the next generation to protect processes rather than provoke change. Grooming, therefore, has been skewed toward managing rather than challenging.”

What defines the new leadership DNA?

If the past era was about scale, media buying power, and legacy relationships, the new wave of leaders will be judged by a very different yardstick.

Nisha Singhania, Co-Founder and Director of Infectious Advertising, believes the next crop will be defined by empathy and values.

“We’re not just solving business problems anymore- we’re solving for relevance, representation, and responsibility. Leaders now need to think like founders, not just custodians of creativity,” she notes.

Read more: Why are there so few Indian leaders at the helm of global ad companies?

For Santara, the differentiator will be balance. “The future of successful client stewardship lies in the ability to merge creativity with data and technology… Agencies and leaders that master this integration will be the ones to create enduring value.”

Arora is blunt: “This is a defining moment for our industry where leaders must be doers, not just movers. Clients don’t care whether the solution comes via AI, influencers, or owned media- they just want outcomes. Creativity will always be the heart, but tech is now the nervous system.”

“Platforms will always change. What machines can’t replicate is the ability to find meaning where others only see commodities. Leaders who can do that will own the future,” notes Pannaswami.

Where will the new leaders come from?

Legacy networks are clearly struggling with the transition.

Leadership overlaps post-merger, global reporting structures, and shareholder-driven priorities leave little room for experimentation. That rigidity is creating space for independent agencies to push ahead.

“The next generation of leadership is emerging from independent agencies, led by young CEOs and CCOs who possess a sharper understanding of both the market and the modern consumer,” says Santara. “Their environments encourage adaptability, agility, and experimentation, where even failure is seen as growth rather than setback.”

Read more: Global Mergers, Local Ripples: Consolidations reshape India's ad land as clients seek 'single-window' partners

Saraf echoes this optimism: “I do see younger leaders already shaping agencies in fresh ways. They may not yet carry the big titles, but they are running large businesses, driving culture, and pushing for integration. They’re less replacements for the old guard and more architects of a new kind of agency leadership.”

The churn at the top, triggered largely by consolidation and tech shifts, is driving this change mainly within the networks. Independent agencies are largely insulated from it. In fact, some of the strongest independents today are a direct byproduct of that very turbulence, noted Yadav.

Then there are outfits like Moonshot. They represent a powerful cultural shift in how leadership approaches brand-building. By blurring the lines between content and advertising, they have created a model that feels far more in tune with the way audiences consume today.

The truth is, Indian advertising is entering uncharted territory.

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The exit of a generation of leaders isn’t just about personnel; it’s about power, culture and the very definition of what agencies stand for. The challenge and opportunity is to ensure that the next wave isn’t just about younger faces in old roles, but a new philosophy of leadership, sum up industry watchers.

As consolidation and disruption continue, the leaders who rise will be those who can merge the timeless with the timely- creativity with data, empathy with agility, vision with value. Because in the new adland, it won’t be enough to manage; the winners will be those who can build.