Delhi, 10th February, 2026: Madison Media, a unit of Madison World continues to reinforce its leadership bench in the North & East region with the appointment of seasoned industry professionals across digital and integrated media functions.
Vishal Kumar has joined Madison Media as Vice President – Digital Business, North & East. In his role, Vishal will spearhead the region’s digital growth agenda, working closely with Vivek Das, Chief Digital Officer, Madison Media, and Mimi Deb, COO, Madison Media Plus.
Vishal returns to Madison with over 18 years of experience spanning marketing, media and digital transformation. An alumnus of Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar, he spent close to 8.5 years with GroupM/WPP, where he last led the Digital Practice for Wavemaker North, driving impactful business outcomes and earning accolades at leading industry forums including Emvies and Goafest. Most recently, Vishal founded LeapX.ai, a NASSCOM-awarded startup focused on building AI agents for paid digital advertising, sharpening his expertise at the intersection of technology, data, and digital growth.
Further strengthening the North & East leadership team, Madison Media has also onboarded:
Ambica Chaudhary as Deputy General Manager – Integrated Media:
Ambica brings over 15 years of experience across leading global agency networks including Starcom (Publicis Groupe), Wavemaker (WPP) and most recently PHD, Omnicom Media Group. She has led integrated media planning for marquee brands across CPG, smartphones, luxury fashion, mobility and life sciences, including managing Unilever’s media mandate in the North American market. In her new role, she will strengthen client-centric, integrated media solutions across the North & East region.
Akanksha Panwar joins as Deputy General Manager – Digital Business:
Bringing over 15 years of experience spanning software engineering, IT and digital advertising. An MBA from the University of Nottingham, Akanksha has spent the last six years with WPP Media working on leading accounts, and has previously held digital leadership roles at Dentsu Media, delivering full-funnel media strategies across CPG, electronics, fashion and health insurance categories. Known for her innovation-led approach, she has led award-winning initiatives recognized at the EMVIES, Indian Digital Marketing Awards and Campaign India Digital Crest Awards.
Vishal Kumar, Vice President – Digital Business, North & East, Madison, said, “It feels great to return to Madison at a time when the organisation is reimagining the future of advertising & media through Madison 3.0. Having spent the last few years building LeapX.ai at the intersection of AI, data and performance marketing, I’m excited to bring those learnings back to scale digital growth and build future-ready tech and data capabilities for the North and East markets”.
Mimi Deb, COO, Madison Media North & East, commented, “As we strengthen our North & East leadership under Madison 3.0, Vishal will play a pivotal role with his deep expertise in data and technology. Akanksha & Ambica will work closely with Vishal. Akanksha brings with her diverse category experience and digital depth. For Ambica, it is homecoming after an exhaustive international exposure in managing global brands. Together, this leadership trio will act as the growth of architects for the North and East branches of Madison. This is just the beginning as we move towards strengthening our team aligned with Madison 3.0”.
Vivek Das, Chief Digital Officer, Madison Media, commented, “Vishal, Ambica & Akanksha’s appointments are deliberate Madison 3.0 bets on digital first growth in our North and East markets. Vishal’s mix of platform scale, AI entrepreneurship at LeapX.ai and deep agency craft makes him the growth architect we need for this phase. As we roll out GPS, MbrAIn and Catalyst OS, he will help translate our AI-powered stack into sharper market choices, stronger systems of effects and tighter brand–commerce integration for clients in these regions. Ambica strengthens our integrated media leadership with deep cross-category and global agency experience, helping us deliver sharper, client-centric solutions. Akanksha brings strong, full-funnel digital depth and innovation-led execution to accelerate solution-led, integrated outcomes. Together, this leadership bench significantly elevates our North & East growth agenda.”
Madison Media, India’s largest homegrown communication agency, has been ranked the World’s 3rd Largest Independent Media Agency by RECMA. At the recent e4m Prime Time Awards 2025, Madison Media was awarded ‘Media Agency of the Year’ for the 6th time. The agency was also honored with the ‘Outdoor Media Agency of the Year’ title at the e4m NEON OOH Awards 2025 for the 3rd time. The agency has won over 300 awards in the past 2 years. Madison Media handles media planning and buying for blue chip clients like Asian Paints, Titan, TVS, Pidilite, Jyothi Labs, Ceat, Blue Star, Cipla Health, Samsonite, Licious, Joy Cosmetics and several others.
For more information, please contact Aditi Madappat, at [email protected]
