Madison Media has announced a series of leadership appointments across its content, influencer marketing, digital, south operations and sports marketing functions, as part of its ‘Madison 3.0’ growth roadmap.
As part of the reshuffle, Mayank Bhatnagar has joined as Chief Client Officer, where he will lead the agency’s south operations and focus on accelerating business growth in the region. Returning to Madison, Bhatnagar brings over 25 years of experience across India, Malaysia and Singapore, having previously held senior roles at OMD Malaysia, Carat India and Mindshare. His expertise spans business expansion, profitability and managing large-scale client relationships across sectors such as FMCG, telecom, automotive, QSR, IT, banking and retail, working with brands including Apple, McDonald’s, Nestlé, P&G and Tata Group.
Strengthening its content and influencer marketing capabilities, Madison Media has appointed Karan Rao as Vice President. Based in Mumbai, Rao will lead Madison Loop and drive its evolution into ‘Loop 2.0’, envisioned as a content and influencer marketing unit powered by a blend of human creativity and AI-driven capabilities. He will report to Vivek Das, Chief Digital Officer. Rao brings over 15 years of experience across content, storytelling and digital marketing, and was previously Co-founder at LeapX. He has also led StudioX for The Coca-Cola Company across India and South-West Asia and worked with global agency networks such as WPP.
In another development, Dinesh Rathod, who has led Madison Media’s south business for over a decade, will now head the agency’s sports vertical. In his expanded role, Rathod will focus on building and scaling the sports practice, spanning cricket, emerging sports, live events and brand partnerships, while creating sports-led solutions for clients.
Commenting on the appointments, Ajit Varghese, Partner and Group CEO, Madison Media, said the move reflects a strategic shift to align with evolving client expectations. He noted that brands today require integrated ideas that cut across content, platforms, creators and commerce, and the new leadership structure aims to deliver this at scale.
Bhatnagar highlighted the industry’s transition towards outcome-driven partnerships, adding that his focus will be on strengthening client relationships, building high-performing teams and delivering measurable impact. Rao emphasised the growing influence of the creator economy and expressed enthusiasm about building meaningful, culturally relevant work through Loop 2.0. Rathod pointed to sports as a powerful avenue for driving consumer engagement and said he aims to develop innovative partnerships across both established and emerging sporting ecosystems.
Madison Media currently handles media planning and buying for a diverse portfolio of clients including Asian Paints, Titan, TVS, Pidilite, Jyothy Labs, CEAT, Blue Star, Cipla Health, Samsonite, Raymond, Axis Max Life Insurance, Joy Cosmetics, Parag Milk Foods and Polycab.
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