D. Shivakumar is the new chairman of ASCI

Rohit Gupta was elected the vice-chairman and Shashi Sinha was re-appointed as the honorary treasurer.

At the board meeting of The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) held today, D. Shivakumar, group executive president, corporate strategy at Aditya Birla Group, was unanimously elected the chairman of the board of ASCI.

D Shivakumar

As a member of the board of governors for three years, supporting self-regulation, Shivakumar is an accomplished business leader having spent over 19 years in sales, marketing and general management positions across consumer products and the luxury industry.

Rohit Gupta, president - network sales and international business, Sony Pictures Networks India, was elected the vice-chairman and Shashidhar Sinha, CEO, IPG Mediabrands, was re-appointed as the honorary treasurer.

Members of the board of governors include - Harish Bhat (director, Tata Global Beverages), Subhash Kamath (managing partner, BBH Communications India), Sandeep Kohli (executive director and vice president for personal care Hindustan Unilever), Prof S.K. Palekar (adjunct Professor and advisor - Executive Education Institute of Management Technology), N.S. Rajan (managing director, Ketchum Sampark), K.V. Sridhar (founder and chief creative officer (director), Hyper Collective Creative Technologies), Abanti Sankaranarayanan (former vice chairperson, CIABC), Girish Agarwal (director, Dainik Bhaskar Group), Madhusudan Gopalan (CEO, Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care), Prasun Basu (president - South Asia Nielsen (India)), Sivakumar Sundaram (president - Revenue, Bennett Coleman & Co.), Vikas Agnihotri (director sales, Google India), and Umesh Shrikhande (CEO, Taproot India Comm.).

Abanti Sankaranarayanan

Abanti Sankaranarayanan, the outgoing chairman, ASCI, says in a press release, "2017-18 has been another strong year for ASCI as we have made significant advancements towards building our organisational muscle, external credibility and strong collaborations. Our stringent guidelines, seamless processes and the dedication and hard work of our Consumer Complaints Council have contributed to restricting the use of misleading advertisements and enhanced self-regulation."

She adds, "ASCI's momentous achievements for the year include successful completion of a three-year-long collaboration with the Department of Consumer Affairs, renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Food Safety Standards Authority of India, introduction of "Guidelines for Celebrities in Advertising" and inclusion in AYUSH's Empowered Committee to control misleading ads of AYUSH drugs. As the Chairman for ASCI for the year 2017-18, I am extremely proud to be a part of this journey and I am confident that under Shivakumar's chairmanship, ASCI will continue to grow swiftly and steadily."

The incoming chairman, D. Shivakumar, says in a press release, "I want to thank Abanti for her stewardship. We live in changing times with respect to information, media and trust of society. ASCI has been built on the foundation of self-regulation and the wisdom of the previous chairmen and the board. It's my privilege to do the role now".