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Category: People

  • Clensta appoints Ankit Gaur as the new CGO & Strategy Officer

    Clensta appoints Ankit Gaur as the new CGO & Strategy Officer

    Mumbai: Home and personal care startup Clensta on Tuesday announced the appointment of Ankit Gaur as their chief growth and strategy officer.

    As Clensta gears up to expand its portfolio and offerings, Gaur will be spearheading brand and performance marketing, communication, sales & growth functions for the brand.

    With deep expertise in spearheading disruptive innovation, Gaur brings to the table an innate knack for understanding consumer behaviour. In his role, Ankit will be expected to deliver transformational growth in establishing Clensta as the undisputed market leader in home and personal care segment.

    An alumnus of the prestigious SP Jain School of Global Management, Gaur comes with an extensive experience of 13 years in the industry, and has worked across different industries and verticals throughout his career. Prior to joining Clensta, Gaur was at the helm of the direct-to-consumer (D2C) business at Livpure. He has also held various senior leadership positions with organisations such as CuroCarte, Ashok Leyland, Wal-Mart India, Big Bazaar India and Wonderchef.

    In his previous stint as an entrepreneur, Ankit piloted the launch of his startup, EthnicRoom, an omnichannel ethnic fashion startup, and successfully raised series-A funding for the brand. His expertise as an entrepreneur will be instrumental in strengthening Clensta’s brand positioning across the country.

    “We are delighted to have Ankit on board as our chief growth and strategy officer and would like to welcome him to the Clensta family,” said Clensta founder and CEO Puneet Gupta. “Clensta was incorporated in 2016 with a vision to provide affordable and effective cleaning solutions to the world while also ensuring our planet’s commitment by contributing towards reducing pollution and waste. As we complete six years in business and progress towards the next leg of our journey, we are aiming to expand our presence across markets and enhance our product portfolio to include a more comprehensive set of offerings. Ankit, with his extensive experience across different sectors and industry, is a welcome addition to the team and would play a significant role in catapulting the company to newer heights.”

    “I am honoured to have been appointed as the chief growth and strategy officer at Clensta,” said Ankit Gaur. “I have been closely following the developments at Clensta and am impressed with what the brand has achieved in such a short span of time. The ecosystem of sustainable consumption and production that Clensta is trying to build is truly commendable and closely mirrors my personal ethos. I am excited about the new role and look forward to establishing Clensta as one of the most sought-after brands in the D2C space.”

  • OMD India onboards Charul Tomar as its new head of strategy

    OMD India onboards Charul Tomar as its new head of strategy

    Mumbai: The Indian division of global media agency network, OMD has appointed Charul Tomar as its new head of strategy. She will be spearheading impactful, strategic initiatives across the board, building upon existing strengths, while working with key stakeholders to build a strong and strategic foothold in the region, the network said in a statement. She will be reporting to OMD India CEO Anisha Iyer.

    With over 13 years of diverse experience having worked with leading market research and media agencies, like Kantar, Nielsen and Mindshare, Tomar brings with her robust cross-functional experience in market research, insights & strategy and media analytics.

    In her role at OMD, she will also be in charge of accelerating efforts around nurturing a culture where attention and empathy are treated as valuable currencies to take a more humanistic approach towards client and people relationships. Furthermore, advancing the mandate of the organisation, she will be instrumental in augmenting the Red Spine – OMD India’s nerve centre, ensuring that each component of the system remains interconnected in an efficient way. With a spotlight on furthering Omni’s potential and an emphasis on leveraging OMD Design – the robust and highly-adaptive end-to-end process by OMD, she is all set to further capitalize on emerging trends and make complex decisions faster.

    Speaking on the appointment, Iyer said, “We are stoked to have Charul on board with us. She is a fine strategic leader and frontrunner when it comes to having a pulse on the confluence of consumer, brand and insights. Her appointment comes at a time when OMD India is undergoing significant momentum and one that is fuelled by the most promising talent in the industry. I am certain that Charul’s valuable expertise, combined with her drive and commitment, will help us take our offerings to new heights. The future looks promising!”

    On being a part of the OMD team, Tomar said, “Sharp strategic management is always at the heart of every successful business. I am truly excited to be on board with OMD India, chiefly due to their commitment to futureproofing and their ability to adapt and innovate in an ever-changing marketplace. The agency exudes a strong vision and energy on the back of an exciting 2022 it has had so far, and I look forward to leveraging my experience to formulate game-changing strategies and deliver scalable business solutions, all while keeping empathy and attention at the core of what we do.”

  • LoanTap’s technology division LTFLoW elevates Gautam Sinha as CEO

    LoanTap’s technology division LTFLoW elevates Gautam Sinha as CEO

    MUMBAI: The technology focussed division of LoanTap, LTFloW announced the appointment of Gautam Sinha as chief executive officer on Thursday. Prior to this, Sinha was marking his time as senior vice president of LTFLoW division of the online Fintech platform.

    Based in Pune, Sinha’s responsibility will involve working towards the functioning of and executing all projects at hand of LTFLoW. He will be responsible for business growth and build upon the company’s success in growing client participation and meeting commitments. He will be working towards the operational perspective of the organisation. Sinha will be responsible for the smooth functioning of LTFLoW and lend his knowledge and governing skills as a tech expert to the growth of this independent division.

    Sinha has over two decades of experience, having served in responsible positions in organisations like Infosys, HCL, and Edgeverve, to name a few.

    He has been instrumental in bringing about major innovations within LoanTap and has been actively involved in bringing operational efficiency to the organisation, said the company in a statement. He specialises in digital transformations, innovation and building components which help to homogenize and augment business processes for development. His deep-rooted knowledge and experience in product development, managing large size programs, goal-oriented project planning and executions & defining strategies for continuous improvement have been key assets for the organisation.

    Speaking on the appointment, LoanTap founder and CEO Satyam Kumar said, “Gautam is not just an industry insider, but his experience and knowledge make him one of the biggest assets to the industry. We are extremely proud to have him as a part of the leadership team. His expertise and leadership are sure to guide the company towards heightened customer success and create new products that will take this space to a whole new level.”

    As the CEO of LTFLoW, Gautam Sinha added, “It brings me immense pleasure to have been given the opportunity of Chief Executive Officer of LTFLoW. I am looking forward to this role. Tech enabling is the backbone of every business today as it widens the scope of every business and in a post-pandemic world, this is exceptionally important. With technology at its heart, we are looking at transforming every transaction and every process to get more efficient, seamless and hassle-free.”

    “Our customers are our motivation and we at LTFLoW understand that financial inclusion is only going to be possible when we digitise the entire process and make it beneficial for them. Business transformation towards growth has always been key and in my new role, my aim will be to mobilise the team and continue with our pursuit of impactful customer experience,” he further said.

  • Xiaomi India names Alvin Tse as new GM & Anuj Sharma as CMO in leadership rejig

    Xiaomi India names Alvin Tse as new GM & Anuj Sharma as CMO in leadership rejig

    MUMBAI: Smartphone and smart TV brand, Xiaomi India announced on Friday various organisational changes for the next phase of growth. Alvin Tse will now spearhead the company’s India operations as its new general manager, while Anuj Sharma will rejoin Xiaomi India as the chief marketing officer.

    Tse will replace Manu Kumar Jain, who was previously the managing director of Xiaomi India. Jain moved to a larger role as a global vice president for Xiaomi last year, after seven years in India. Jain is currently responsible for international strategy including international marketing and PR.

    Tse is a Xiaomi global founding team member. He is also a Poco founding member and the former general manager of Xiaomi Indonesia. The company stated that Tse will join hands with current India’s leadership team.

    Sharma was previously the country director for Poco India after the company was announced as an independent brand in 2020. In his role, Sharma will spearhead the overall brand and marketing strategy for the India division and will play an instrumental role in bolstering Xiaomi’s reach with consumers across the nation.

    Since the transition of Manu Jain, Xiaomi India leadership team i.e., chief operating officer Muralikrishnan B, chief business officer Raghu Reddy, and chief financial officer Sameer BS Rao have been leading  India’s business independently and will continue to be a strong driving force behind the brand, the company said in a statement.

  • dentsu India’s CCO Narayan Devanathan resigns

    dentsu India’s CCO Narayan Devanathan resigns

    MUMBAI: After an eleven-year-long stint at the network, dentsu India chief client officer (CCO) Narayan Devanathan has resigned.

    Devanathan moves on from the agency to pursue his interests outside the advertising industry. The existing teams at dentsu India will continue to drive and oversee client-centric solutions led by the market’s key leadership – Divya Karani, Amit Wadhwa and Anubhav Sonthalia, the agency said in a statement.

    Commenting on Narayan’s decision, Dentsu India interim CEO Peter Huijboom said, “Narayan’s leadership has played an instrumental role in successfully aligning dentsu India with the company’s global ambitions of becoming the most integrated advertising network in the world. His relentless commitment towards providing the finest solutions to our clients is commendable and I wish him all the best on his new endeavour.”

    “There is a solid winning leadership in place, led by Divya Karani, Amit Wadhwa and Anubhav Sonthalia – that continues to serve our clients with excellence, perfection, and passion. Our ambitions for India are on an upward trajectory and we are moving ahead full throttle,” he added.

    Devanathan added, “My association with dentsu goes way beyond the varied roles that I have held within the network. Dentsu has been a life-shaping experience for me and the decision to take this big leap to pursue my interests outside the advertising industry was a tough one but something I am keenly looking forward to”

    “The network is a rich powerhouse of expertise; the enormity of exposure it offers is way beyond many milestones. As I look back, I am filled with gratitude to have been closely working with many of the best talents and industry leaders within the network,” he further said.

  • Weekend Unwind with: Gautam Madhavan, founder and CEO at Mad Influence

    Weekend Unwind with: Gautam Madhavan, founder and CEO at Mad Influence

    It’s that time of the week again when we attempt to get to know the person behind the title a little better, by having them share their nuggets on life and their mantras to deal with the curveballs that life throws through our Weekend Unwind series.

    This week we have Mad Influence founder and CEO, Gautam Madhavan sharing his life lessons and thoughts with IndianTelevision.com. Having founded his entrepreneurial venture in 2018 at the age of 21 with the vision of creating a sustainable community of content makers, he has grown the company manifold in just four years.  Madhavan believes that brief video integrations are the way forward and that these audio and video influencers will shape the future. Today, the startup is worth Rs 200 crore with a reach of more than 500 million digital users across all platforms. 

    So here goes…

    -Ø  Your mantra for life
    My journey has been full of new experiences, but one rule that I have always followed is: Listen to everyone, but do what you believe is right.

    Ø  A book you are currently reading/plan to read
    I am currently reading “The Psychology of Money” by Morgan Housel. A book to put things into perspective.

    Ø  Your fitness mantra, especially during the pandemic
    Stretch until you can. It is a routine, and I have not missed a single day. It pumps my blood, my excitement and helps me get energised for the day.

    Ø  Your comfort food
    Dal Chawal, as common as it may sound, is my absolute go-to comfort food. There is nothing I would relish more than a hot plate of Dal Chawal.

    Ø  When the chips are down a quote/ philosophy that keeps you going
    When you feel low and feel like giving up, always remember why you started.

    Ø  Your guilty pleasure
    Anytime, any day, ice cream

    Ø  When was the last time you tried something new?
    Professionally, dipping my feet in NFTs has to be one of the most exhilarating and amazing experiences I’ve ever had.

    Ø  A Life lesson you learnt the hard way

    There are three:

    -Never depend on others

    -Sometimes you have to choose between exposure and money, and the decision you make will determine the course of your future adventure.

    -Three mistakes to not repeat as an entrepreneur: Never hire to fire. Never open up your finances to your investor. You cannot be the same person as you are with your friends

    Ø  What gets you excited about life?
    Everyday, I am grateful for the team I have and I am even more excited to witness how it grows.

    Ø  What’s on top of your bucket list?
    To give back to society through my work always tops the list.

    Ø  If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self, what would it be?
    Don’t waste time: Everything has its own pace; time is not something that can be fought. There are no right or incorrect answers; you must keep going forward and in your own time.

    Never hire to fire: During my early days as an entrepreneur, I took great pride in firing my employees after a week or two of their arrival. The difference between firing now and then is that I used to fire people because of their performance without realising that it takes time to see results, and now I fire people because of ethical concerns. I’ve come to appreciate and understand the difference.

    Ø  An activity that keeps you motivated / charged during tough times
    I am always up and ready for a challenge. However, listening to music helps me feel motivated and inspired.

    Ø  What lifts your spirits when life gets you down?
    What keeps me going is the fact that I always remember my end goal and why I started all this.

    Ø  Your go-to stress buster
    Music always calms my nerves and helps me soothe my state of mind.

    Ø  One thing you would most like to change about the world
    Stop Wars. Spread Love.

  • Google appointed Durga Raghunath as India’s news partnerships head

    Google appointed Durga Raghunath as India’s news partnerships head

    Mumbai: According to a LinkedIn update, Google has appointed Durga Raghunath as head of news partnerships – India. Previously, she was the head of digital at Times of India associated with Times Internet.

    Raghunath, formerly, worked as senior vice president of growth at Zomato and was also the CEO – digital at The Indian Express. Simultaneously, she was the co-founder and CEO of Juggernaut Books and CEO of Network18 Digital/Web18. During her career, Raghunath has had stints at publications such as The Wall Street Journal, LiveMint, HarperCollins and Orient Longman. She is an alumnus of India School of Business and Columbia University.  

    With over two decades of experience, Raghunath’s expertise lies in digital media and commerce, product development, consumer technology, mobile experiences and monetisation of digital products via ads, daily transactions and subscriptions.

  • Ravi Shastri’s ‘king of good times’ avatar in latest Cred ad sets the internet abuzz

    Ravi Shastri’s ‘king of good times’ avatar in latest Cred ad sets the internet abuzz

    Former Indian cricket head coach, Ravi Shastri’s fondness for alcohol is well known. Shastri himself has never shied away from acknowledging that a good brew of beer is good enough to lift his spirits! But this has also led him to be the butt of trolls and a source of many memes on social media on numerous occasions in the past. Cashing in on this premise, Cred’s latest and probably the final ad spot for this IPL, celebrates and reinforces this image of Shastri as Indian cricket’s ‘King of good times’. And the internet is loving it!

    A day prior to the campaign launch, Ravi Shastri set the internet abuzz by sharing speculative pics of him partying away (which we now know are shots from the ad film) with suggestive captions such as: ‘Good mornings are optional if you haven’t slept at all’, or ‘My family lives in Mumbai and I live in the moment.’ And even bizarre tweets like ‘Mujhe kya mein toh chill hun’ and suspicious sounding ones like: ‘I’m in a good mood today, ask me anything. #AskRavi ‘

    Sharing the brand film with a hilarious ‘Don’t remember any of this’ caption, Shastri even went on to update his Twitter bio to ‘Happy Hours always ’ followed by a ‘cheers’ emoji.

     

     

    The film showcases the former coach in a badass, snazzy avatar, and further drives in his spirit-loving image, with the comical usage of the popular ‘sattar minute’ phrase for happy hours, and lines like ‘I used to be a batsman, but for you, I can be a keeper’, ‘Waste mat karo yaar’ for popping the bubbly.

    Also, Jim Sarabh seems to have retired well and truly from the brand’s films, with his signature line taken up by the celebrity himself- in this instance Shastri- spouting lines like, “Being Ravi Shastri is fun. But not as fun as paying your credit card bills on Cred and getting rewards!”

    The writing is credited to the AIB team of Tanmay Bhat, Devaiah Bopanna, Puneet Chadha, among others. The Twitterati, of course, lapped it up, with even his former coaches and team India cricketers joining in the fun and banter surrounding the video. Indian Cricketer Yuzvendra Chahal responded to the film with a tweet saying: Ravi Shastri gave the best ’70 minute’ speech ever.

    Addressing the senior cricketer, ‘Ravi sir’, cricketer Shubman Gill called it “Dawn of a new era”.

    Meanwhile, television and cricket presenter, Gaurav Kapur, known for being the host of the pre-match Indian Premier League show, Extraaa Innings T20 and Cricbuzz Live jumped in, saying, “I can personally vouch for the fact that evenings with the champ are as much fun as this”, following it with partying emojis.

     

     

    Cred shared the video on YouTube with the accompanying, fun message purportedly from the senior cricketer: “As Ravi Shastri, I want to make it very clear that all my parties are invite-only. But I admire our youth and their potential, so if you’re able to do all of the following, you’re automatically on the guest list.”

    It went on to add five pointers for ‘making the cut: “1. Open beer bottles with a bat. If you ask how, you’re already out. 2. Analyse footage from the party to see where drinks were wasted 3. Bartend 24×7 4. Carry an extra case of cough syrup at all times 5. Parallel park the bar-counter If you make the cut, congratulations. You’re never going to remember another night in your life again”.

    The caption goes on to make a case for the credit card payment app brand, with the cricketer signing off with: “Believe me, I know what’s fun.”

    Gauging from the change in tone and tenor of the latest Cred ‘Play it Different’ ad, from its previous nostalgia-inducing series and before that, the celebrities doing stuff completely uncharacteristic to their personalities – remember the angry Dravid and quirky Kapil Dev films- would this be the beginning of a new series of ad films for the credit card payment brand? One wherein celebrities join in to reiterate and even reinforce their much-maligned image? If so, wonder which other celebrity is going to go next! Wait and watch this space for more…

  • Yellow.ai onboards former Google leader Surbhi Agarwal as head of global marketing

    Yellow.ai onboards former Google leader Surbhi Agarwal as head of global marketing

    Mumbai: AI solutions company, Yellow.ai announced on Tuesday the appointment of Surbhi Agarwal, as its senior vice president (SVP) of global marketing. Agarwal joins Yellow.ai from Google Cloud, where she led product and solution marketing for Data Analytics and Cloud AI portfolio, including Contact Center AI.

    “Agarwal comes with over two decades of leadership across product life cycle management, sales enablement, product marketing and product-led growth in early-stage start-ups and large enterprises. Previously, she has also run product management and corporate strategy at Intel Corporation and McAfee,” the company said in a statement.

    Yellow.ai CEO and co-founder Raghu Ravinutala said, “We are thrilled to bring Surbhi onboard at Yellow.ai as part of our executive team.” 

    “This is a crucial appointment for us at a time when we are sharpening our global strategy as a Total Experience (TX) solutions provider. As we scale our operations and expand our capabilities, Surbhi’s leadership will augment our efforts towards defining our brand and driving revenue. We look forward to her leadership and believe her experiences with global industry leaders will be invaluable as we grow across markets,” he added.

    In this role, Agarwal will be managing all of the marketing initiatives for Yellow.ai across geographies to grow business in the US, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Pacific regions. Based out of the San Francisco bay area, she will be actively expanding the automation platform’s global footprint by building a highly impactful go-to-market team that would strengthen Yellow.ai’s position in the market.  

    Speaking on her appointment, Agarwal said, “Yellow.ai is at a pivotal point of entering new geographies with its proven product capabilities, making this a very exciting time to join the executive team. With Yellow.ai’s driven culture, differentiated offerings, leadership and market potential, I believe the company is strongly positioned to define and lead the Conversational AI space. I look forward to building the best-in-class marketing organization at Yellow.ai to increase our market share and achieve new heights.”

    With over 800 employees globally, Yellow.ai continues to hire talent across sales, marketing, product and engineering, the company added.

  • Drip Capital appoints Shweta Madhusudhan as global head, talent development & compensation

    Drip Capital appoints Shweta Madhusudhan as global head, talent development & compensation

    Mumbai: Digital cross-border trade finance platform Drip Capital Inc. has announced that Shweta Madhusudan has joined its leadership team as global head, talent development and compensation. The platform provides financing solutions to small and medium businesses (SMBs).

    An alumnus of the Indian School of Business, Madhusudan has over 14 years of experience in human resources, consulting, and research. Her diverse portfolio, among others, includes driving equitability and competitive compensation practices. Shweta’s focus at Drip will be on building programs for people development, inclusion, leadership development, employee fast-track growth, and career progression.

    Drip Capital CEO and co-founder Pushkar Mukewar commented, “As a rapidly growing company, we are looking to strengthen and scale our people development policies and programs. With her vast expertise, I am confident that Shweta will be an invaluable asset in helping Drip become the best place to work globally with practices that concentrate on making employees’ careers fulfilling and meaningful. ”

    In her most recent role at GEP, Madhusudan was instrumental in leading global talent management, people analytics, and HR technology and processes.

    On joining Drip Capital, Madhusudan commented, “I’m honoured to join the organisation and support its strategy to build a strong growth-oriented, inclusive, and equitable culture for all employees. The company’s culture focused on humility, ownership, and results, and its talented leadership has set Drip apart and will continue to fuel its growth story.”