The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) has decided to confer the AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award 2010 to Piyush Pandey, executive chairman and creative director, Ogilvy & Mather South Asia. The award is considered the highest honour to be given to an individual in India for outstanding contribution to the advertising industry.
Announcing the name of the award winner, Colvyn Harris, president of AAAI and chief executive officer, JWT, stated that Pandey is "indeed an inspiration to us all and the most deserving recipient of this year's award".
The AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award is presented annually to an individual, based on criteria like leadership of the industry as an individual, contribution towards advancement and professionalism in the industry, and whether he or she is an example of personal integrity, values and ethics consistent with the standards expected.
Pandey became the national creative director of Ogilvy & Mather India in 1994 and was inducted to Ogilvy's worldwide board in 2006. He has also been named the most influential man in Indian advertising seven years in a row by The Economic Times. Under his leadership, Ogilvy has been named India's most creative agency ten times in the last 11 years and has won 29 Lions. Pandey has also been recognised by every industry body, both in India and globally. Notably, in 2004 he became the first Asian to be the president of the Cannes Jury in the 51 years of its history.
The award will be presented at a ceremony in Mumbai. The date of presentation of the award will be announced soon.
