Rediffusion chairman takes over India’s advertising agencies association, pledging to address the regulatory probe alongside AI disruption and industry pressures.
Sandeep Goyal, Chairman and Managing Director of Rediffusion, has been elected President of the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) for 2026-27, taking over from Srinivasan K. Swamy after a year in office.
In his first comments after the election, Goyal highlighted the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) investigation as one of the key challenges facing the advertising industry. He said the probe had “cast a long shadow” over many AAAI member agencies, placing competition-law issues among the priorities for his new term.
“The AAAI is faced with many challenges. The CCI investigation has cast a long shadow on many member agencies,”
Goyal said. He added that agencies were also struggling to adapt to AI and data technologies, while revenues remained under pressure.
The CCI investigation has therefore emerged as an early test for the new AAAI leadership, as the association represents advertising agencies potentially affected by the regulator’s proceedings. Goyal did not provide further details on the investigation or outline specific steps AAAI would take in response.
Alongside the regulatory issue, Goyal identified the impact of artificial intelligence and the need to help agencies adapt to new technologies as another major priority. He said the industry needed to reduce fears around AI and train existing employees to protect jobs, particularly at smaller agencies that lack the scale and resources of larger players.
Goyal also said AAAI’s flagship industry event, Goafest, needed a substantial refresh.
The new president takes over after several months of public tensions between his camp and that of his predecessor. The dispute began in July over AAAI’s Lifetime Achievement Award process and later extended to Swamy’s nomination to the BARC India board.
Goyal’s election was unanimous. Swamy had returned as AAAI president for 2025-26, marking his fourth term at the helm of the association.
Goyal has more than four decades of experience in advertising and media. He began his career at HTA, now VML, in 1984 and later worked at Trikaya Grey and Mudra. He became President of Rediffusion in 1997 and Group CEO of Zee in 2001. From 2003 to 2011, he was India JV Partner and Chairman of Dentsu India and Middle East. In 2021, he acquired Rediffusion and Everest.
His new term comes as India’s advertising industry faces regulatory scrutiny alongside broader structural changes driven by AI, data technologies and pressure on agency revenues.
Source: Best Media Info
