Agency Reporter The Leadership Collective 2026 Concludes as an Exclusive CXO Forum on AI, Creativity & Growth
The second edition of The Leadership Collective 2026 by Agency Reporter was hosted on 27th February 2026 at The Leela, Gurugram, and emerged as one of the most focused and high-impact CXO gatherings of the season. The 2026 symposium solidified its reputation as the industry’s premier “collaborative think tank,” gathering an elite cohort of CXOs, to decode the most pressing challenge of the decade: “Leading Marketing in the Next Digital Era: Where AI, Creativity & Human Insight Meet.”
Designed as an invite-only forum, the event was exclusively curated for CXOs across marketing, media, and business. The audience comprised senior media and digital heads from leading brands across India- professionals who are actively accountable for growth, brand equity, transformation mandates, and organisational strategy. The relevance of the room was unmistakable. Every participant was directly connected to the themes being discussed; every conversation reflected operational realities rather than theoretical speculation.
The evening was made possible with the support of valued partners. The Leadership Collective 2026 was brought to you by Huella Services, powered by MiQ, with mediasmart as the programmatic partner. Their association reflected a shared commitment to intelligent, outcome-driven marketing ecosystems and added further strategic depth to the conversations.
The forum opened with remarks by Rahul Puri, Editor & Founder of Agency Reporter, who articulated the philosophy behind the Collective. He underscored that the power of the room lay in its intentional design – every seat occupied by leaders shaping brands and businesses in real time.
The first discussion, “The New Brand Architecture: Redefining Identity in an Algorithmic World,” dived into the tension between rapid AI scaling and the preservation of brand equity. Moderated by Karan Khanna, Co-founder & COO, Huella Services, the panel explored the delicate balance between trusting data-driven optimization and relying on the “gut instinct” of seasoned leadership.
The panel featured a powerhouse lineup:
- Ipshita Chowdhury, Head of Marketing, Motorola
- Aditya Krishna, Director, Sales & Marketing, McCain Retail
- Neelima Burra, Chief Strategy Transformation & Marketing Officer, Luminous
- Amandeep Malhari, Head of Marketing, JK Maxx Paints
- Roopali Sharma, President- North and East, Havas Media India
The leaders concluded that while AI can scale a brand’s reach, only human leadership can protect its “meaning.” The consensus was clear: performance metrics must not come at the cost of long-term distinctiveness.
The focus then shifted to operational excellence with the second session, “Growth in the Next Digital Era: Orchestrating the Integrated Marketing Machine.” This panel addressed the complexity of modern marketing stacks and the need to unify content, commerce, and community into a single, cohesive growth driver.
Moderated by Varun Mohan, Chief Commercial Officer, India, MiQ, the speakers included:
- Amaresh Godbole, CEO, PDX India and Chief- AI Experiences and Solutions, Publicis Groupe India
- Ashish Tiwari, Chief Marketing & People Officer, Home Credit India
- Manish Guptaa, Chief Marketing Officer, Pizza Hut
- Shilpi Kapoor, Marketing Head, BharatPe
The discussion highlighted how AI is being used not just for automation, but as a tool to simplify decision-making, allowing leaders to cut through channel complexity and focus on tangible business outcomes.
What ultimately distinguished The Leadership Collective 2026 was the quality of engagement in the room. Because the audience comprised senior leaders operating at CXO and business-head levels, the dialogue was layered, solution-oriented, and anchored in real organisational challenges. The discussions extended beyond the stage, with peers exchanging perspectives on team structures, measurement frameworks, transformation roadmaps, and long-term brand custodianship.
As the evening concluded, the sentiment was clear. The Leadership Collective 2026 was not only well-attended and thoughtfully executed- it was substantively meaningful. It reinforced the importance of curated forums in an era of noise, and it demonstrated that when the right leaders are brought into the right room, the conversation naturally moves from trend commentary to strategic clarity.
With its second edition, The Leadership Collective has firmly established itself as a credible, CXO-driven platform shaping how India’s marketing leaders think about the next digital era- with nuance, optimism, and measurable intent.