MUMBAI: Ajit Varghese is set to return to the world of advertising, taking the reins at Sam Balsara’s Madison as partner and chief executive officer. The move marks a homecoming for Varghese, who cut his teeth at the agency before a globe-spanning career across media and tech.
Varghese had only recently been chief revenue officer at Jiostar, the Reliance–Disney joint venture, a role he held for seven months. Before that he led ad sales for the Walt Disney Company in India (2023–24) and served as chief commercial officer at ShareChat and Moj (2020–22), where he drove a 7x revenue surge and helped turbocharge growth in Bharat-focused social media and short video.
His longest stint was at WPP, where he rose from managing director of Maxus South Asia to global president of Wavemaker, overseeing 3,000 staff across 50 markets. Along the way, he delivered double-digit bottom-line growth, launched new digital and data-driven practices, and notched a string of industry awards.
Varghese began his career at Madison in 1999, climbing to chief operating officer before leaving in 2006. Back then, he helped Coca-Cola triple its media budget in India and added marquee clients such as McDonald’s, Asian Paints, and Axis Bank.
His return signals Madison’s intent to sharpen its edge in a market that is once again in flux.
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