AdAsia 2011: David Droga, Ram Charan and Rishad Tobaccowala announced as key speakers

AdAsia 2011 has confirmed David Droga, Dr Ram Charan and Rishad Tobaccowala as Speakers for the congress to be held in New Delhi from October 31 to November 03, 2011.The speakers will draw on their rich and varied experience to share their perspective on the evolving dynamics in business management, marketing and communications at AdAsia 2011.

Commenting on these confirmations, Madhukar Kamath, chairman of the Organising Committee, AdAsia 2011 and Group CEO and managing director, Mudra Group said, "AdAsia2011 is honoured to welcome David Droga, Ram Charan andRashid Tobaccowala to AdAsia 2011. Their varied experience and expertise in different fields of management, marketing and communications will add immeasurable value to the entire conference and will provide it a holistic view."

AdAsia returns to India after eight years. In 2003, the AdAsia congress was hosted in Jaipur. This edition of the congress is not expected to just be about Ads and Asia, as it seeks to comprehensively explore all aspects of the theme - 'Uncertainty: The New Certainty'.

A media note from the organisers pointed out that the business world is currently at an inflection point witnessing a realignment of global economic leadership. Explaining the rationale behind the theme, the note further stated, "In the 19th Century, the world looked to the West for innovation and progress. In the 21st. century, everyone's attention is riveted on Asia. AdAsia 2011 will thus provide a ready platform to chronicle change of a significant magnitude and provide a glimpse of the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead. The prolific agenda of AdAsia 2011 will comprise over 15 intellectually stimulating sessions aimed at exploring the business ecosystem and understanding the nature of disruption to effectively address pertinent concerns."

David Droga founded Droga5 in New York in 2006. Droga5 is now one of the fastest growing independent agencies in America.During his advertising career, Droga has worked as worldwide chief creative officer of the Publicis network, executive creative director of Saatchi & Saatchi London, and regional creative director of Saatchi & Saatchi Asia. He is the single most-awarded creative professional at the Cannes International Advertising Festival and has been inducted into the American Advertising.

Ram Charan is a highly sought after business advisor and speaker famous among senior executives for his uncanny ability to solve their toughest business problems. For more than thirty-five years, Dr. Charan has worked behind the scenes with top executives at some of the world's most successful companies, including GE, Verizon, Novartis, Dupont, Thomson Corporation, Honeywell, KLM, Bank of America, and MeadWestvaco. He has earned MBA and doctorate degrees from Harvard Business School, where he graduated with high distinction and was a Baker Scholar. After receiving his doctorate degree, he served on the Harvard Business School faculty.

Rishad Tobaccowala helps guide strategy and serves as a catalyst to innovation efforts across Vivaki – a Publicis Groupe entity. Tobaccowala has also served as the chief innovation officer of Publicis Groupe Media and was the founder and president of SMG Next, the first and most comprehensive futures practice in the media industry. The development of SMG Next resulted in the launch of several successful practices for SMG including: SMG Play, the first company to leverage videogames as a marketing platform; word-of-mouth practice Reverb; and Digits, a leader in mobile marketing. Tobaccowala was also responsible for developing SMG Search, a dedicated unit of SMG that specializes in leveraging search applications in new ways.

AdAsia 2011 is being organised under the aegis of the Asian Federation of Advertising Associations (AFAA). AFAA was set up in July 1978, when representatives of advertising associations of ten Asian countries reached an unanimous decision to do so, based on the recommendations of a working committee formed at the 10th Asian Advertising Congress held in Sydney in 1976. The current members of the Federation include Advertising Associations from Bangladesh, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taipei, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Vietnam.