Goafest 2026 has unveiled its speaker line-up for the 19th edition of the advertising, media and marketing festival, centred around the theme ‘Reset for Growth’.
Scheduled to take place from May 20 to May 22, 2026 at Taj Cidade de Goa Horizon, the three-day festival has focused on discussions around artificial intelligence, data ownership, evolving media consumption, new media platforms, measurement and creativity-driven business growth.
The festival has featured 60 speakers across 20 sessions from the advertising, media, marketing, technology and business sectors.
Speakers expected to take the stage at Goafest 2026 have included Prasoon Joshi of Prasar Bharati and Omnicom Advertising India, Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Santosh Desai of Think9 Consumer Technologies, Eugene Cheong of Euge Publishing and Rakesh Bedi.
The client and brand leadership line-up has included Nikhil Sharma of Perfetti Van Melle, Aman Gupta of boAt, Rohit Kapoor of Swiggy, Chandan Mendiratta of Zepto, Veetika Deoras of IHCL, Tuhina Pandey of IBM, Tarun Bhagat of PepsiCo, Riya Joseph of Britannia Industries, Harsh Deep Chhabra of Godrej Consumer Products, Darshana Shah of Aditya Birla Capital, Prasun Kumar of MagicBricks, Punit Dharamsi of Association of Mutual Funds in India, Rajiv Dubey of Dabur India, Shubhranshu Singh, Arpan Biswas of Ajio, Ajay Kakar of Adani and Jahid Ahmed of HDFC Bank.
Technology-focused discussions have featured Satya Raghavan of Google India, Haran Ramachandran of Spotify and Neha Markanda of ShareChat.
Entertainment and sports personalities participating in the festival have included Sukhbir Singh, Neeti Mohan, Harmanpreet Kaur, Preeti Jhangiani, Parvinn Dabass of Pro Panja League, Aditi Chauhan, Rahul Chaudhari, Sameer Pathak and Mandira Bedi.
Mohit Joshi, Co-Chair of the Goafest 2026 Organising Committee and CEO, Havas Media Network India, said, “We are witnessing a shift in consumer behaviour, new technology adoption and a lot more in India and world over. As the industry evolves, growth can only come from embracing fresh perspectives, cross-industry collaboration, and conversations that may seem tough in boardrooms. The breadth of perspectives through our speakers across all stages will surely mirror our industry’s dynamics while looking for opportunities that unlock growth.”
Rohit Ohri, Founder, Ohriginal and Member, GoaFest Advisory Committee, added, “The agenda this year reflects the urgent realities of our industry. ‘Reset for Growth’ isn’t just a theme; it is a call to action – one that has sparked stronger client participation than ever before. Over the three days, we will hear from voices across the entire ecosystem – from AI and data to storytelling and brand-building. GoaFest 2026 will not just be a platform for celebration, but also for meaningful dialogue, collaboration and future-shaping ideas.”
