Every year, Goafest brings its own breakout personalities—the people everyone wants to hear speak, meet backstage, click pictures with, or quote long after a session ends. Sometimes it’s their creativity, sometimes it’s their energy, and sometimes it’s simply the way they own every room they walk into.
So, between the packed sessions and beachside conversations, IMPACT asked attendees one fun question: Who’s the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) of Goafest this year? The answers were a mix of admiration, nostalgia, spontaneity and pure fandom, revealing the personalities that have truly captured the industry’s attention this year.
Rajiv Dubey
VP- Marketing, Dabur India
“Padma Shri Prasoon Joshi, Chairman of Omnicom Advertising Group India and Prasar Bharati, is definitely one of the most GOATed people here at Goafest. It is such a pleasure listening to him. Every word he speaks feels like, ‘Amrit beh raha hai jab baatein karte hain woh.’ Whenever I see him on TV or in real life, he feels like such a legend.
Secondly, it would be Actor Rakesh Bedi. I bumped into him yesterday and spent some time with him. He is such a great guy, and it’s such a pleasure knowing him as a person and as a human being. We also got to hear some poems from him. He spoke about his struggles, the making of Dhurandhar, and some BTS moments from the film. He is a gentleman and a truly GOATed person.”
Suresh Balakrishna
Chief Revenue Officer of The Hindu Group
“There are a lot of amazing industry leaders who are GOATed at Goafest, but if I really scratch my head, it would be Ashish Khazanchi, Co-founder and Managing Partner at Enormous. What a fantastic job he has done with Enormous. I’ve known him for a long time, even before he started the company, and the energy he brings when he walks into a room is amazing. Clients love him, and I can vouch for that because I was a client of his, too.
The way he comes up with ideas at the drop of a hat—he’s one of the most creative minds I have ever known. All power to him, and I’m sure Enormous is going to grow really enormous soon.”
Padma Shri Prasoon Joshi
Chairman of Omnicom Advertising Group India and Prasar Bharati
“I just took a student session with a few students who are here at Goafest. I think the youngsters at Goafest, who are very, very fresh, are the best. They have such wonderful questions. There’s curiosity in their eyes. They are looking forward to everything. And they keep asking, ‘Why not do this? Why do this?’ I really like that.”
Jaideep Gandhi
Vice President, AAAI, and Chairperson, Goafest 2026 organising committee
“It's obviously Aman Gupta, Founder of boAt and OFF/BEAT, Shark of Shark Tank India Show. The way he handled the entire session and the way he spoke—it all felt very natural and straight from the heart. He was also very spontaneous, and because of that spontaneity, I feel he has been the best so far.”
Ashish Khazanchi
Co-founder and Managing Partner at Enormous
“The GOAT at Goafest unquestionably has to be Bipin Pandit, COO of The Advertising Club. For all the years that I’ve been coming to Goafest, he has consistently made this festival happen. There is nobody like him—he’s a complete rockstar.
He has a great team working with him, and they put all of this together year after year. Bipin is the master of ceremonies behind it all. He brings people together, gets all the creative geniuses and their egos together, and still manages to organise the festival seamlessly every single year. So, hats off to him.
I’ve been in platonic love with him for the last 12 years, so absolute best to him.”
Compiled by Anaum Shaikh
