Ad Club Announces First Jury Chairs for ABBY Awards 2025

The Ad Club today announces the first set of jury chairs for The ABBY Awards 2025 powered by One Show scheduled to take place at Goafest 2025 on May 21, 22 and 23, 2025 at Taj Cidade de Goa Heritage and Horizon, Goa.

Rajdeepak Das, Chief Creative Officer, Publicis Groupe, South Asia and Chairman, Leo Burnett, South Asia will chair the Video Film below 1 min duration category. Senthil Kumar, Chief Creative Officer, VML India has been appointed to chair the Video Film Above 1 min duration category. Chandni Shah, Founder & COO, FCB Kinnect is appointed as jury chair of the Mobile category. Anupama Ramaswamy, Joint MD & Chief Creative Officer, Havas Worldwide will chair the Diversity, Equality and Inclusion category.

Rajdeepak Das appointed as Jury Chair at ABBY Awards 2025 powered by One Show for Video Film below 1 min duration category

Rajdeepak Das is the Chief Creative Officer, Publicis Groupe, South Asia, and Chairman, Leo Burnett, South Asia.

Rajdeepak has cultivated a distinctive reputation over the years by driving impactful marketing and creative innovations for some of the country’s biggest brands. He firmly believes that the true potential of creativity and technology is finding human-centric solutions for the biggest brands because what’s good for people is good for brands, and his body of work reflects his vision for creativity. Raj currently oversees the creative narrative of the Publicis Groupe in India and chairs a creative council to sharpen the creative output across the board for the Groupe. His work for Whisper – the Missing Chapter won a Grand Prix in Sustainable Development Goals at Cannes Lions 2022.

His work on PepsiCo Lays Smart Farms won a Grand Prix at Spikes Asia 2024. Under his creative leadership, PepsiCo India went on to win its first ever Grand Prix. His Humankind approach to creativity led Leo Burnett India to win multiple Grand Prix’s and metals at prestigious platforms like Cannes Lions, One Show, D&AD and Spikes Asia. To further his vision of creativity which makes a positive Impact Raj has created ‘Apollo 11’ a specialised division of Leo Burnett India, consisting of what he calls ‘the mutant creatives’ comprising a team of young people in their 20’s with backgrounds like aerospace engineering, product designers, data analyst and environment scientists solving human and brand problems with him.

Senthil Kumar appointed as Jury Chair of ABBY Awards 2025 powered by One Show in the Video Film Above 1 min duration category

Senthil Kumar is the Chief Creative Officer, VML India.

Senthil is the spearhead of the creative firepower at VML India. He works with multilingual creative and digital teams across the country. He believes in leading from the front with insightful ideas that have built legendary local brands like Wipro, The Times Of India, Tata Steel, TataGluco Plus, Himalayan, Apollo Tyres, Hero Motors etc.

The Economic Times gave Senthil the coveted title of ‘Lion Hunter’ for winning India’s first Gold Lions in Film; Film Craft at the Cannes Lions International Festival. He holds the record of 27 Cannes Lions, also winning India’s first One Show Gold Pencils in Film, Film Craft and Film Innovation along with 24 D&AD pencils including the hallowed Yellow Pencil, the Spikes Asia Grand Prix in 2024 and Adfest Lotus Roots GrandPrix’, Clio Golds and New York Festival Gold Medals.

With over 300 International Awards, Senthil is among the most awarded writers, creative directors and film directors in Indian advertising, while leading the company to multiple ‘Agency Of The Year’ and ‘Campaign of the Year’ titles. Senthil has been voted ‘Copywriter of the Year’ and ‘Film Director of the Year’ at the National and Asia Pacific regional creative festivals.

Senthil has Written and Directed many commercials and Short Films – National Award Winning ‘A Salaam To Kalam’ biopic on the childhood of President Abdul Kalam, the United Nations Documentary Feature on the world’s last indigenous tribes ‘Save Our Sentinels’ the interactive film ‘Blink and They’re Gone’ for Jimmy Nelson Foundation.  

Senthil has served on the Creative Board of Reliance JIO, the MMA Global Mobile Marketing Association, and Jury Chairs of the Cannes D&AD, One Show, New York Festivals and the Jury Chairman of National Awards like Kyoorius and Abby Awards at Goafest and was part of the Global Creative Council at JWT and Wunderman Thompson. 

Chandni Shah appointed as Jury Chair at Abby Awards 2025  Powered By One Show in the Mobile category

Chandni Shah is the Founder & COO, FCB Kinnect.  From gracing TV screens as a child model in over 100 commercials to leading one of India’s top digital agencies, Chandni Shah has carved a unique path in advertising. Today, as the Co-founder & COO of FCB Kinnect, she continues to push the boundaries of new-age advertising with innovation, fearless leadership, and an unshakable vision for the future.

At just 32 years old, Chandni has already established herself as one of the most Influential Young Leaders in advertising. Her passion for innovation and strategy has helped FCB Kinnect become India’s leading Creatively Integrated Agency with over 600 Kinnectors, delivering groundbreaking campaigns for top national & global brands.

Chandni’s leadership and business acumen have earned her several prestigious accolades. She was named Campaign Asia-Pacific’s Young Business Leader of the Year (2021) and consecutively ranked amongst IMPACT’s 50 Most Influential Women in Advertising & Marketing. She has also been recognized in Campaign South Asia’s 40 Under 40 list and honored with the SHE 2022 award by Agency Reporter, which celebrates both professional excellence and personal resilience.

Her strategic vision has played a crucial role in securing major global industry accolades for FCB Kinnect, including Cannes Lions, One Show, Spikes Asia, Grand Clio, and D&AD. Additionally, she served as Jury Chair for the Mobile category at the Abby Awards South Asia at Goafest, cementing her position as a key thought leader in the industry.

Beyond business, Chandni is a champion for gender diversity and inclusion, fostering an environment where women thrive in leadership roles. She believes in authentic leadership, urging women to embrace their individuality rather than conforming to outdated leadership norms.

More than just a leader, Chandni Shah is a disruptor, mentor, and role model. Her journey – from child model to one of India’s most influential figures in advertising – proves that passion, perseverance, and innovation can truly change the game.

Anupama Ramaswamy appointed as Jury Chair at ABBY Awards 2025 Powered by One Show in the Diversity, Equality and Inclusion category

Anupama Ramaswamy is the Joint MD & Chief Creative Officer, Havas Worldwide. Anupama Ramaswamy has over 25 years in advertising.  Driven by a passion for advertising, Anupama has made a formidable mark in the Indian scenario with the strength of her ideas, power of her campaigns and her sheer commitment towards work.

She has struck multiple Golds at Cannes, Clio, Adfest, LIA and has won metals at many other shows like the New York Festivals, Abby Awads, Spikes and One Show. She has been a judge at the prestigious Cannes, One Show, Spikes, AME awards, New York Festivals, Kyoorious and Abby Awards. She brought home a London International Gold for Times Of India and the Health Specialist of the Year at ABBY Awards at Goafest.

Anupama has carved a niche in handling Indian brands, including Reckitt, Dabur, P&G, Fortis, Suzuki, UTI Mutual Fund, William Grant, amongst others. Previously a National Creative Director & Managing Partner at Dentsu Impact, Delhi, she has led teams on the prestigious account of Maruti Suzuki. She launched Ikea in India.

As Senior Creative Director at JWT Delhi, Anupama led the Delhi office to its first Cannes and Clio Gold in its 100-year history.

In the same year, the network picked up Agency of the Year at AdFest. The Fujifilm campaign that contributed to this pile of metals was ranked among the top 20 most awarded print campaigns in the world, according to the Gunn Report.

In addition, her work on Nokia and Samsung helped them become the No 1 trusted and youth brand respectively in the country.