Colvyn Harris elected president, AAAI

Colvyn Harris, CEO, JWT India, talks of his additional role as the president of the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI)

Colvyn Harris, chief executive officer, JWT India, is all set to start a brand new tenure as the new president of the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI). Harris has been unanimously elected the president of the apex body of advertising agencies in the country for the year 2009-10 by its members at the annual general meeting of the AAAI held in Mumbai on November 13.

According to Harris, his tenure will be greatly marked with an increasing number of seminars, fests, international speakers and the promotion of what's in the best interest of the industry. "My agenda for this year will be to add greater value to all that we, at AAAI, have been doing for all these years. I will not just continue with all the good projects that have already been started but will also add some fresh ideas and innovations to make the industry a better place for all," states Harris.

Speaking about his immediate responsibilities, Harris informs afaqs!, "First and foremost, I have to finish the formation of the executive committee. Preparation for Goafest would be another important task. A lot of planning is needed to make our presence felt in Delhi, Chennai and Bengaluru. Not just this, perennial problems such as the not-so-great pitching process and the way the industry is getting its value need to be taken care of on a priority basis."

For all these missions, he hopes to get increased energy levels and greater support from his colleagues.

Harris, who has been the vice-president of the AAAI for the past two years, has taken over from Madhukar Kamath, managing director and CEO, Mudra Group. Kamath will now be the ex-officio member of the new AAAI executive committee.

Marking another interesting development, Nagesh Alai, executive director, Interface Communications has been elected the vice-president of the body. Also, Neville Gomes, managing director, Multimedia Aquarius, will be the honorary secretary and Ashish Bhasin, chairperson, Carat Media Services India will be the honorary treasurer.

The executive committee for the ensuing year will also include MG Parameswaran, executive director, DraftFCB Ulka; Nakul Chopra, chief executive officer, Publicis Communications, South Asia; Prasoon Joshi, regional executive creative director, Asia Pacific, McCann Erickson; Sam Balsara, chairperson and managing director, Madison Communications; Srinivasan K Swamy, managing director and CEO, RK Swamy/BBDO; Surajit Nag of Advertising & Sales Promotion Company; Tapas Gupta of BEI Confluence Communication; Umesh Shrikhande, CEO, Contract India; Vikram Sakhuja of GroupM; and Vinod Nair of Network Advertising.

Have news to share? Write to us atnewsteam@afaqs.com