Reliance Industries' Kaushik Roy elected president of IAA's India chapter

Kaushik Roy, president, brand strategy and marketing communication, Reliance Industries has been elected president of the India chapter of the International Advertising Association for the year 2010-11.

Roy served as the vice-president of the association for the past two years. An ex-advertising professional, he moved on from being Mudra Communications' executive director, chief creative officer and head to Reliance in 2003. He started his career in advertising in 1979 with HTA (now JWT).

Lynn de Souza, chairperson and chief executive officer, Lintas Media Group, who was the honorary secretary of the association for two years, is the new vice-president.

The India chapter of the IAA was initiated in 1991 to constitute a local chapter of the global body with a view to provide members direct links to the international advertising and communications industry. Its membership roster includes about 220 top professionals and 77 young professionals representing marketing, advertising and the media. Membership to the IAA is by invitation only.

Srinivasan K Swamy (chairperson and managing director, RK Swamy BBDO) is now the honorary secretary and Ramesh Narayan (founder, Canco Advertising) is the honorary treasurer of the association.

Other members of the new managing committee include Sam Balsara (chairperson and managing director, Madison Communications); Avinash Pandey (vice-president and head, revenue, Media Content & Communications Services India); Jaideep Gandhi (director, Jaya Advertising); Bhaskar Das (executive president, Bennett, Coleman & Co.); Kunal Lalani (managing director, Crayons Advertising); MG Parmeshwaran (executive director and chief executive officer, Mumbai, Draft FCB Ulka); and Neeraj Roy (managing director and chief executive officer, Hungama Digital Media).

The special invitees to the committee are Pheroza Bilimoria, managing director, Business India and Pradeep Guha, who are global honorary secretary and member of the World Board and global vice-president, and area director, Asia Pacific and member of the World Board of the IAA, respectively.

On his new role, Roy says in an official statement, "My committee's top priority will be to deliver value to members. We will work closely with other industry bodies such as the AAAI, the Ad Clubs, ASCI, ISA, INS, IBF and other industry bodies to create programmes and events that will benefit the industry as a whole. Our focus will be on knowledge based initiatives and CSR."

According to Roy, the need of the hour is to make the fraternity embrace the digital wave towards which the IAA India chapter shall have a clear agenda.

The International Advertising Association, headquartered in New York, was founded in 1938 to champion the cause of responsible marketing. The IAA, with its 56 chapters in 76 countries, is a global partnership whose members comprise advertisers, media, advertising and public relations agencies, media companies and academics. It is a platform for industry issues and is dedicated to protecting and advancing freedom of commercial speech, responsible advertising, consumer choice, and the education of marketing professionals.