Category: People

XtraCover announces appointment of Anirudh Singhania as its new chief technology officer

Mumbai: XtraCover, a new-age e-commerce platform catering to the lifecycle management services of smartphones and other electronic devices, has announced the appointment of Anirudh Singhania as its new chief technology officer (CTO) to strengthen the company’s technological prowess.

Singhania has more than 25 years of experience in creating technology solutions, hatching growth strategies and leading high-performing software engineering teams. Prior to joining XtraCover, Anirudh was part of the founding team of Lulu and Sky Private Limited as the Chief Technology Officer. He also built dharma.h Software Technologies. Furthermore, he has worked with multiple tech startups from the stage of ideation to exit.

Also read: Geo-targeted campaigns ramp up as brands go hyperlocal

On the appointment XtraCover CEO & founder Soumitra Gupta commented, “As we prepare for our next stage of growth at XtraCover, we are thrilled to welcome Anirudh to our executive team. Anirudh’s extensive experience developing technology solutions and leading engineering teams in the IT and e-commerce space make him ideally suited to strengthen the company and drive growth to the XtraCover business.”

In the new CTO role, Singhania will be responsible for integrating and advancing XtraCover’s technology platform. He will drive forward the technical vision for the business in delivering a range of after-sales services to buyers of refurbished electronic gadgets. His expertise in application development, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and digital marketing and strategy will help XtraCover accelerate technological and business growth.

Commenting on his new role at XtraCover, Anirudh Singhania said, “I am extremely excited to contribute to the vision and opportunity to scale at XtraCover. XtraCover has a great culture and I am looking forward to leading and mentoring this team of talented people. My deep technical and leadership experience will enable me to build and execute strategies that propel the business and exceed the needs of our customers.”

Launched in 2019, XtraCover is an e-commerce platform that caters to the lifecycle management services of smartphones and other electronic devices. Operating in the B2C and B2B2C segments, the company offers services such as price discovery and comparison for new appliances, warranty support, refurbished device warranty, accidental damage and protection and repair and refurbishment services, among others. The e-commerce platform aims to create awareness in the Indian ecosystem to make refurbished devices a valued choice, if not the first choice.

Witnessing a paradigm shift in the market growth of refurbished products since the global pandemic, XtraCover has clocked a revenue of over Rs 100 crore in FY 2022. With an aim to continue this growth trajectory, the company intends to surpass the Rs 275 crore target revenue in FY 2023. Additionally, the e-commerce platform plans on increasing its global outreach through export-oriented units (EOU) in India.

July 26, 2022
Pawan Sarda joins Wingreens as CMO

Mumbai: Wingreends Group has appointed industry veteran Pawan Sarda as its new chief marketing officer. He joins the company from Future Group, where he was working as chief marketing officer of digital, marketing and e-commerce business.

He comes with an experience of 20 years working in retail, housing, digital, e-commerce and content landscapes.

Previously, he has also worked with Tata Housing and Development Company for over three years as marketing & product development head.

July 19, 2022
Sandeep Ranade joins Hansa Research as EVP & quantitative research head

Mumbai: Hansa Research has appointed Sandeep Ranade as the executive vice president (EVP) and national head of quantitative research.

Sandeep was working with Kantar as executive director and head of media in South Adia. He brings with him an experience of 27 years of working in the research industry. He has extensive experience in FMCG, telecom and the media sectors across brand, creative and media domains. He has also led teams across locations to help clients build their brands and solve their critical business issues.

In his professional journey, he has led multiple global studies including developing a windows-based software for analyzing NRS (National Readership Survey) 1995 data with a team of software developers. He was also the team lead for setting up a panel for monitoring lubricant usage in trucks (2003-2004) and also transitioned customer satisfaction study for a large telecommunication client in Africa (across sixteen countries).

Commenting on Sandeep Ranade’s appointment, Hansa Research CEO Praveen Nijhara said, “We are pleased to welcome Sandeep to our organization. His vast experience will further help advance our research expertise and deliver more valuable insights to our clients. I’m confident he will play an important role in Hansa’s growth in the coming years.”

Speaking on his new role Ranade said, “I am excited to be a part of the Hansa Research Group. Being the largest consumer insights company in India, Hansa is known in the research industry for its innovative and path-breaking studies. I look forward to working with the team who has pioneered some benchmarks in the market research industry.”

Having completed his education in PGDBM (Marketing and Finance) from Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies (SIMS), Pune and B.E. Mechanical with Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, Sandeep has many awards to his credit for his exceptional contribution to the research industry.

July 12, 2022
Digitas India bags digital communication mandate for Matter

Mumbai: A vertically integrated product tech start-up, Ahmedabad-based Matter has appointed Digitas India as the agency for its digital communication mandate following a multi-agency and multi-phased pitch process.

Digitas will handle Matter’s digital marketing mandate, the scope for which will encompass communications, media, customer experience & digital assets and community engagement across its mobility and energy business verticals.

The Matter e-motorcycle will be introduced in the second half of 2022. According to Matter, the yet-unnamed motorcycle will be the first electric two-wheeler in the country to have a battery pack with active liquid cooling. While there aren’t many specifics about this brand-new bike at this moment, it will be released in the third quarter of 2022.

Commenting on the association with Digitas India, Matter COO & co-founder Arun Pratap Singh said, “At Matter, we are embarking on a journey to revolutionise electric mobility and energy storage space. Our innovative offerings will be represented through highly creative digital marketing and we’re glad to have partnered with Digitas, as they follow the philosophy of thinking new and leveraging the creative nuances to deliver highly compelling digital innovations, we are excited to start this journey with Digitas India by connecting with our customers creatively and helping them to transition to clean energy.”

Welcoming Matter to its fold, Digitas India COO Sonia Khurana said, “It is our privilege to partner with Matter and to introduce the brand and product in the market. It is exciting to be a partner to the brand right from the incubation stage itself of the product. Our aim will be to stay true to our connected marketing philosophy and use the right mix of insight-driven creativity, technology, and media to drive brand love and adoption.”

Since its inception, Matter has invested extensively in technology development with the “Innovate in India” approach for the development of futuristic electric vehicle platforms and for energy storage applications.

July 12, 2022
TVS Radeon unveils the new campaign with Pankaj Tripathi

Mumbai: The new age commuter motorcycle by TVS Motor, TVS Radeon has launched a new campaign featuring Pankaj Tripathi. The campaign highlights the impressive new features of its latest variant. Conceptualised by Lowe Lintas Bangalore, the ad film delivers the brand’s message using subtle humorous gestures.

In the film, Lowe Lintas portrays Pankaj Tripathi delivering the brand’s message through gestures and minimal dialogues. The features are showcased through the actor’s actions in a way that would intrigue the customers and keep them engaged, generating a strong brand recall. The narrative lands on the communication message – “Samajhdar ko ishara hi kafi hain” – suggesting how the product speaks for itself without any additional endorsement.

The ad film showcases the new TVS Radeon as India’s 1st 110 cc motorcycle to have the multi-colour reverse LCD cluster. This reverse LCD cluster comes with a real time mileage indicator (RTMi) that enables the user to control the mileage according to riding conditions. Apart from RTMi, there are seventeen other useful features in-built in the digital cluster like service indicator, low battery indicator, top/average speed, USB charger, etc. The new Radeon also comes equipped with proprietary TVS Intelligo (ISG and ISS system) as a variant, delivering an unmatched riding experience and superior mileage. The vehicle continues to ensure best in class comfort for the long-distance riders owing to its longest seat in the category.

Commenting on the maiden campaign, TVS Motor Company senior vice president – marketing Aniruddha Haldar said, “Radeon is designed to deliver comfort and convenience for the everyday commute, With the addition of reverse LCD cluster with RTMi, the bike enables you to take control of your mileage delivery. In today’s context with rising fuel costs, this unique feature will be loved by the consumers. The new film showcases the advantages of these features with subtle humour. The film beautifully captures the essence of the product and Pankaj Tripathi delivers the message in his inimitable style.”

Speaking about the creative thought behind the campaign, Lowe Lintas chief creative officer Sagar Kapoor said, “In a category that is always talking about something new, our challenge was to find an interesting way to talk about the new features in Radeon. We decided that instead of spelling out all the details in a conventional way, we will leave it to the intelligence of our audience to understand what is new. That’s how we landed the campaign idea, ‘Samajhdar ko ishara hi kafi hain’. Pankaj Tripathi became the obvious choice to play Bhaiyyaji in the campaign because of his signature style of communicating a lot just through his gestures.”

TVS Radeon was launched four years back, in 2018, and has crossed many milestones since then with its sturdy build, robust style and plush comfort. The brand has always tried to stay ahead of the curve – be it through their dual tone edition launched at the beginning of this year or the new RTMi feature.

July 12, 2022
Madison Public Relations names Abhinav Srivastava as CEO

Mumbai: Madison PR, a unit of Madison World, has announced the appointment of Abhinav Krishna Srivastava as its chief executive officer. He will be based in the agency’s Mumbai office.

With over 21 years of experience, Srivastava is an expert in internal and external communications covering public relations, public affairs/advocacy, digital, advertising and integrated marketing campaigns, according to the agency.

He also comes with enriched experience of stakeholder engagement, CSR, financial & investor relations, crisis management and media training. He has led integrated marketing and communications strategies across sectors like consumer, lifestyle, food, pharma & healthcare, technology, telecom, energy, infrastructure, finance & banking, aviation, automobile, realty, retail and hospitality. Having worked with some of the world’s most respected brands, he has experience with multiple consumer market mechanisms and managing complex corporate reputation programs for businesses.

Prior to joining Madison PR, he spent almost two years working at SPAG Asia and D Yellow Elephant as chief operating officer. Aside from SPG Group, he has been part of leadership teams at Avian WE, Edelman India, Comma Consulting and Rediffusion DYR.

Madison World chairman Sam Balsara said, “I am delighted to have Abhinav lead our very capable and experienced Madison PR team as CEO. Am sure he will take Madison PR to new heights and will add a lot of value to our client’s business.”

On joining Madison and commencing his new role, Srivastava said, “I’m beyond excited to join Madison Public Relations and be a part of such a respected, mission-driven team of India’s leading homegrown agency group. I look forward to developing our business by building on established clients and finding new opportunities for growth. As the communications domain has got revamped in the past two years, I believe Madison’s might and my multi sectoral experience will help us expand our growth horizon and get into the big league!”

July 11, 2022
Tesla’s Elon Musk unlikely to buy Twitter; may face legal consequences

Mumbai: After a lot of speculation, Tesla chief executive officer Elon Musk has pulled out of the $44 billion deal to buy Twitter which he inked back in April.

Musk stepped back with an announcement, in a regulatory filing, on Friday that he would drop his $44 billion offer to buy Twitter. Musk’s lawyers stated that Twitter has failed to respond to their multiple requests for information about fake accounts.

According to a letter sent to Twitter on behalf of the Tesla chief’s, Elon Musk is terminating his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter, citing multiple breaches of the purchase agreement. The letter said that Musk is terminating the merger agreement because Twitter violates several provisions of that agreement.

Also Read: The Twitter-Elon Musk tussle: To be ‘bot’ or not to be

Reacting to this, Twitter chairman Bret Taylo, said the board will take a legal route to enforce the merger agreement. He tweeted, “The Twitter Board is committed to closing the transaction on the price and terms agreed upon with Musk and plans to pursue legal action to enforce the merger agreement.”

According to the agreement, Musk will have to pay $1 billion if he fails to make the complete transaction for the deal.

Musk had threatened to cancel the transaction unless the business could demonstrate that less than 5 percent of members on the social media platform were made up of
spam and bot accounts.

The billionaire and the 16-year-old San Francisco-based corporation are likely to engage in a protracted legal battle as a result of the ruling.

July 9, 2022
MRSI elects new managing committee with Manish Makhijani as president

Mumbai: India’s foremost industry-led market research body Market Research Society of India (MRSI) on Friday announced the formation of the managing committee for the tenure of 2022-2024. Hindustan Unilever global insights director Manish Makhijani was elected as the new president and took over from Datamatics Global Services executive vice president and global head – research & analytics solutions Sandeep Arora.

Manish worked as the Vice President of MRSI for the last three years and has been instrumental in creating and delivering several initiatives like the Golden Key Awards, Hackathon event at the Annual Seminar, etc. Manish is also a passionate advocate of nurturing talent and has been at the forefront of inspiring new talent to come to the industry and contribute toward business growth.

Additionally, Paru Minocha and Saurin Shah were elected as Vice-Presidents, Prashant Kolleri as the Secretary, and Nitin Kamat as the Treasurer for MRSI. The election of the new managing committee members was held at MRSI’s 34th Annual General Meeting on 7 July 2022 in Mumbai.

MRSI’s managing committee is represented by companies across research agencies, research users and service providers in the market research industry. The newly-elected managing committee continues to stay focussed on maintaining and ensuring the highest quality standards thus establishing India’s dominant position in the global market research industry. The focus of MRSI for the next couple of years would be to build on the momentum it has created in the last few years and focus on building a stronger network where all the members can benefit from each other, building a talent pipeline in the industry and instilling a sense of pride in the work being done.

Congratulating the newly elected president, Datamatics Global Services executive vice president and global head – research & analytics solutions and Market Research Society of India’s outgoing president Sandeep Arora said, “I thank the MRSI members for supporting the current managing committee with their trust, especially when we had to change our course and plans drastically during the unprecedented Covid period. Thankfully, most of the key initiatives (locally and globally) we launched during that time have given a new direction and scale to the vision of the association going forward. I wish the incoming managing committee under the leadership of Manish Makhijani all the best to carry this momentum forward.”

The 2019-2021 managing committee took on some of the MRSI’s most significant initiatives till date. The committee was responsible for the successful release of India’s first-ever comprehensive market sizing report titled ‘The Indian Research & Insights Industry 2021’. The report stated that the approximately $2.3 billion Indian research and insights industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12 per cent to 14 per cent to reach $4.2 billion by 2025-26. Rising to the numerous challenges on account of the Covid-19 pandemic, the former managing committee under the leadership of Sandeep Arora embraced online and hybrid formats to drive engagement. The committee also supported fieldwork investigators who are the foot soldiers of the industry through the MRSI Freelance Investigator Fund in 2020.

On being elected as MRSI’s president for the next two years, Hindustan Unilever global insights director Manish Makhijani said, “I am incredibly privileged to carry forward the legacy of so many stalwarts in the industry. Our industry has come a long way and sits at the intersection of changing consumer behaviour, technology, and marketing solutions. It is now up to us to really bring out the contribution of insights into the growth of the business in this complex and evolving world.”

Here’s the list of MRSI’s managing committee member for the term of 2022-2024:

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July 8, 2022
IKEA India on boards Murali Iyer as chief financial officer

Mumbai: Swedish home furnishings retailer IKEA has appointed Murali Iyer as its new chief financial officer for its India business. He will be part of the IKEA India leadership team reporting to the CEO and chief sustainability officer Susanne Pulverer.

Murali takes over from Preet Dhupar who has moved into a global role within Ingka group which is the parent company of IKEA.

In the new role of chief financial officer, Murali will lead IKEA India’s CFO function with purpose towards profit, leading the finance controlling, business navigation, legal, tax, customs, and business risk & compliance teams.

Murali brings with him over 22 years of successful track record in financial leadership, having worked with the Volvo Group in India and Sweden in multiple roles. With a keen business acumen and curiosity to learn, his experience across geographies and cultures has enabled businesses to overcome challenges for an inclusive growth.

Commenting on his appointment Murali Iyer, said, “I am excited to begin my journey in IKEA India and contribute to its ongoing growth journey. We are focusing on our priority markets and building a strong home furnishings foundation through our omnichannel expansion to be more accessible, affordable, and sustainable for the many people.”

July 8, 2022
SBI General Insurance ropes in Paritosh Tripathi as the new MD & CEO

Mumbai: SBI General Insurance Company has announced the appointment of Paritosh Tripathi as its new managing director & chief executive officer. He was nominated by the parent company, the State Bank of India for the position. He officially took in-charge of the position from 5 July 2022.

He succeeds P.C. Kandpal, who has been posted as DMD (P&RE) at the corporate center, State Bank of India. He is now in-charge of the SBI General Insurance’s overall business strategy & growth, operations, budgets, and strategic growth.

Tripathi brings with him over 32 years of rich and diverse banking experience. In the first half of his banking career, he had worked primarily in the MSME and mid-corporate segment, whereas in the latter part of his career he primarily worked in International Banking and Bancassurance.

Before joining SBI General Insurance, he was the GM operations, Internal Banking Group with State Bank of India and was also on the Board of Sterling Bank, Nigeria and SBI Canada. From 2017 to 2020, he was Head Bancassurance, firstly with SBI Mutual Fund and then with SBI General Insurance. Prior to that, he was Head FI Relationship (East Asia) in Hong Kong and CEO SBI DIFC Branch in Dubai. Before taking up these international roles, he was with SBI Delhi Circle where he handled various assignments in the bank.

July 8, 2022