exchange4media's IMPACT magazine celebrates young achievers with 30 Under 30 list
This was the 2nd edition of IMPACT magazine's successful initiative. Jury was headed by Raj Nayak, CEO, Colors. The jury chose the top 30 from 135 entries shortlisted by a rigorous editorial procedure
IMPACT magazine from the exchange4media Group has just announced the much-awaited Top 30 Under 30 list, 2014, celebrating young achievers in the advertising and media domain. This is the second edition of the list which initiated in 2013.
As the industry evolves to encompass new roles and responsibilities in the advertising domain, the list this year is more elaborate and inclusive of these roles – ranging from people who have a role in planning for mobile in a digital agency, to a technology architect in a media agency to people with extended digital roles, given the exponential growth of digital.
Raj Nayak, CEO of Colors, who headed the jury that picked the Top 30 Under 30, said, “The point of IMPACT’s Top 30 Under 30 is not to rank the best but inspire young talent. Through this list, we hope many more youngsters representing several agencies will be inspired to participate in the future.”
Nayak headed the jury for the 2013 edition of the list too.
In alphabetical order of first names, the names on the Top 30 Under 30 list 2014 are:
| SNO | NAME | AGE | DESIGNATION | COMPANY | |
| 1 | Abhishek Ladoba Sawant | 28 | Creative Director | Publicis Ambience India | |
| 2 | Ajay Ramaswamy | 28 | Lead Designer | 22 Feet Tribal Worldwide |
At the time of jury meet was Creative Supervisor - Art, Grey Worldwide |
| 3 | Anu Gulati | 29 | Creative Controller | Ogilvy & Mather | |
| 4 | Avinash Bajaj | 26 | Creative Team Leader | McCann Erickson | |
| 5 | Bani Kalra | 29 | Group Head | OMD | |
| 6 | Chaitanya Joshi | 26 | Senior Copywriter | FCB Ulka | |
| 7 | Chinmay Kelkar | 28 | Business Manager-Planning | MediaCom | |
| 8 | Deepak Sonpar | 29 | Business Group Head | MediaCom | |
| 9 | Deepti Gera | 29 | Art Director | Leo Burnett | |
| 10 | Divya Uttam | 29 | Senior Planning Director | Cheil India | |
| 11 | Eugene Rebello | 29 | Copy Supervisor | Ogilvy & Mather | |
| 12 | Farah Siddiqui | 28 | Director - Planning | Mindshare | |
| 13 | Ganesh B Nayak | 28 | Senior Creative partner | BBH India | |
| 14 | Gunjan Poddar | 29 | Creative Director | Leo Burnett |
At the time of jury meet was Art Supervisor, Publicis Capital |
| 15 | Jaysheel Pradhan | 25 | Chief Technology Architect | Havas Media | |
| 16 | Krittika Chakraborty | 26 | Group Planning Manager | Dentsu Creative Impact Pvt. Ltd. | |
| 17 | Madhavi Unni | 29 | Account Director | Ogilvy & Mather | |
| 18 | Manasi Rajagopal | 23 | Senior Planner | Ogilvy & Mather | |
| 19 | Megha Ahuja | 29 | National Media Director - Mobile | Ogilvy & Mather | |
| 20 | Mehak Jaini | 28 | Director Account Planning | DDB Mudra Group | |
| 21 | Nadine Zita Warapen | 26 | Creative Partner | BBH India | |
| 22 | Rhea Joey Alphonso | 26 | Account Manager | Madison Media Infinity | |
| 23 | Rohan Ekbote | 29 | Account Controller | Madison Media - Pinnacle | |
| 24 | Rohan Jadhav | 28 | Business Manager | Mediacom Communications Pvt. Ltd. | |
| 25 | Samyak Chakrabarty | 25 | Chief Youth Markterer | DDB Mudra Group | |
| 26 | Shibu Shivanandan | 29 | Sr Vice President | Resultrix Media Pvt Ltd |
At the time of jury meet was Vice President, Resultrix Media Pvt Ltd |
| 27 | Shraddha Goje | 27 | Business Executive | MediaCom | |
| 28 | Stephanie Fernandes | 25 | Copy Supervisor | Happy Creative Services | |
| 29 | Surabhi Talwar | 28 | Senior Brand Services Director | Lowe Lintas & Partners | |
| 30 | Yohan Daver | 24 | Brand Partner | BBH India |
The jury process
After weeks of receiving nominations from agencies across the country, IMPACT shortlisted 135 entries through an internal editorial procedure, and presented them to the jury for review.
The distinguished jury, headed by Raj Nayak, CEO, Colors, included Rohit Gupta, President, Multi Screen Media; Govind Pandey, President, McCann Erickson Advertising; Madhukar Sabnavis, Vice Chairman and Country Head, Discovery and Planning, Ogilvy & Mather India; Subhash Kamath, CEO and Managing Partner, BBH India; S Yesudas, Managing Director – Indian Subcontinent, Vizeum Media; Gita Ram, Managing Director – South, Omnicom Group; Dnyanada Chaudhari, Managing Partner, ZenithOptimedia (then COO of Madison Media); Amer Jaleel, National Creative Director, Lowe Lintas & Partners and Alok Jalan, Managing Director, Laqshya Media.
“This year around, the process has evolved and improved. It is nice to see such a diverse jury, a good mix of representatives from every part of the industry. The testimonials were a great addition this time and worked as an effective parameter for deciding between the entries,” Nayak said.
The jury meet took place on 22nd April, 2014 in Mumbai. The jury reviewed each of the 135 entries and shortlisted 50 talented youngsters. The shortlisted entries were then individually evaluated on the basis of several parameters such as pace of career growth, quality of work, testimonials and awards over the last year. The individual evaluations finally resulted in the Top 30 Under 30 list.
The philosophy
For an industry surviving on new ideas, nurturing fresh talent is a must, and IMPACT’s aim is to recognize and encourage commendable work done by young turks through this coveted list.
The quest is to unearth young people who have the potential to become the next Piyush Pandey, Prasoon Joshi, Balki or Agnello Dias of the creative world or the next Sam Balsara, Vikram Sakhuja or Shashi Sinha of the media agency domain. IMPACT’s first list of the industry’s ‘Top 30 Under 30’ in 2013 garnered huge appreciation. Above all, it brought talented youngsters into the limelight.
This year, IMPACT’S endeavour again has been to provide a platform to undiscovered young talent from the ad-media fraternity, and we must say that we were overwhelmed by the response from creative and media agencies.
As we proudly present 30 of the most talented youngsters in the ad-media domain, here’s raising a toast to their outstanding achievements and cheering them on to leadership position in the industry soon.
Read more about the young achievers here.
http://www.impactonnet.com/node/2972
