Murugavel Janakiraman announced Jury Chair for IMA South 2026

The Indian Marketing Awards – South by the exchange4media Group is back with its the 6th edition this year! The awards celebrate impactful and innovative marketing work from across South India. Murugavel Janakiraman, Founder, Chairman, Managing Director & CEO, Matrimony.com.Ltd.; Chairman, TiE Chennai; Vice Chairman, CII Tamil Nadu, has been named Jury Chair for the upcoming edition for IMA South. 

Joining him as the Co-jury Chair is Dr Annurag Batra, Chairman & Editor in Chief, BW Businessworld & exchange4media. The other jury members will include industry leaders, seasoned professionals, and renowned personalities who will bring together a wealth of experience from diverse fields.

Murugavel is a visionary entrepreneur who is credited with pioneering online matchmaking in India in 1997, through which he transformed a centuries-old, highly offline industry into a trusted digital category that today serves millions of Indians worldwide.​ Under his leadership, Matrimony.com evolved from a small community portal experiment into India’s first pure-play consumer internet company to be publicly listed, setting a benchmark for homegrown tech-led consumer brands.​

Murugavel had earlier served as Chairman of CII Chennai Zone and member of the CII Tamil Nadu State Council.​ He is the Chairman of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), Chennai along with being the Chairman of the CII CEO Forum. Murugavel holds a Bachelor’s degree in Statistics from Presidency College, Chennai, an MCA from the University of Madras, and has completed the Advanced Management Program (AMP) at Harvard Business School.​

Janakiraman’s appointment as Jury Chair is set to bring strong leadership and industry insight to the jury process, given his extensive experience in building consumer-focused digital businesses. Over the years, Janakiraman has been closely associated with innovation, entrepreneurship and brand-building in India’s evolving digital ecosystem.

The Indian Marketing Awards – South aims to recognise standout marketing work, and his role will be central to identifying campaigns that set new benchmarks in the industry. As Jury Chair, Janakiraman will lead the evaluation process, ensuring that entries are assessed on creativity, effectiveness and relevance to regional audiences. 

The awards continue to highlight campaigns that have demonstrated strong creativity, effectiveness, and cultural relevance in the southern region of India. The awards are open to companies with corporate or marketing headquarters based in South India, along with national brands that have executed campaigns specifically tailored for southern markets.