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Category: People

  • Mythik ropes in Jio, MX Player & Walmart veterans to power product-tech vision

    Mythik ropes in Jio, MX Player & Walmart veterans to power product-tech vision

    MUMBAI: The global entertainment startup, on a mission to be the “Disney from the East” has unveiled a heavyweight product and technology leadership team with three marquee hires. Sachin Thapliyal joins as founding member & chief product officer, Kamalmeet Singh as chief technology officer, and Nitin Pakhare as head of product design.

    Between them, the trio boasts over 60 years of experience across giants like Jiosaavn, MX Player, Amazon, Walmart, Microsoft, Payu, and Paytm, shaping platforms that entertained and engaged millions. From building music and video apps with 100 plus million users to pioneering GenAI architecture, their combined resumes read like a masterclass in consumer-tech at scale.

    Thapliyal, who once scaled Jiosaavn past 100 million MAUs and helped shape MX Player into a 175 million-user super-app, will steer product strategy. Singh, an ex-Walmart principal architect and author of large-scale tech design books, brings the muscle of cloud, GenAI, and enterprise-grade architecture. Meanwhile, Pakhare, who has designed experiences for Jiocinema, MX Player, and Yahoo Labs, will focus on ensuring Mythik’s stories look as good as they feel.

    Founder & CEO Jason Kothari is betting on the trio’s mix of creativity and technology to help Mythik deliver its bold promise: reimagining Eastern mythology, history, and folktales for global audiences in compelling, tech-driven ways.

    As Kothari put it, “Their experience in building entertainment platforms at scale, architecting global solutions, and creating engaging user experiences aligns perfectly with our mission.”

    If Mythik’s new chapter reads anything like its hiring, the East’s tales may just get a blockbuster retelling for the world stage.

  • Media maven climbs the ladder at Essence Mediacom

    Media maven climbs the ladder at Essence Mediacom

    MUMBAI: Averill Sequeira has landed the plum job of chief strategy officer at Essencemediacom, the WPP Media brand, marking another step up the corporate hierarchy for the seasoned media strategist. The appointment, which began in July, caps a career spanning over 20 years in India’s bustling advertising and media planning sector.

    Sequeira’s ascent through the ranks reads like a textbook case of steady professional progression. Her journey began modestly in 2004 as a media planner at Madison Communications, before moving to Lodestar Universal where she cut her teeth on communication planning and media tools development.

    The real acceleration came during her lengthy stint at Mindshare, GroupM’s media agency, where she spent nearly six years climbing from senior director of business planning to principal partner for strategy. Her remit there included managing strategic units, delivering marketing solutions, and shepherding blue-chip clients like PepsiCo through the digital transformation.

    A brief entrepreneurial detour saw her founding TranSkills India, a skills development venture, in 2013—though the appeal of agency life proved too strong to resist for long. She returned to the media fold at Cheil India as general manager of planning, before joining EssenceMediacom India in 2021.

    At EssenceMediacom, Sequeira has worn multiple hats, serving first as chief product officer and later as head of creative futures, before her latest promotion to the top strategy role. Her expertise spans customer insight, creative problem-solving, and marketing communications—skills that will prove essential as media agencies grapple with an increasingly fragmented advertising landscape.

    The appointment signals WPP Media’s confidence in homegrown talent, particularly as multinational agencies face pressure to localise their leadership teams across key markets like India.

  • Veteran journalist M L Kotru, former The Statesman editor, dies at 91

    Veteran journalist M L Kotru, former The Statesman editor, dies at 91

    MUMBAI: M L Kotru, one of India’s most respected journalists and a former editor of The Statesman, passed away on Thursday at his home in Gurgaon. He was 91.

    Kotru’s career stretched across nearly sixty years, during which he reported, edited and mentored across some of India’s leading publications. He began with stints at Sunday Mail and ANI before rising through the ranks at The Statesman, where he worked for years as diplomatic correspondent and later as editor. Even after stepping away from full-time newsroom roles, he remained active in commentary, contributing columns to The Statesman until 2013 and writing frequently for outlets in his native Kashmir.

    Beyond his professional accomplishments, Kotru played a vital role in shaping generations of reporters. A senior member and former secretary-general of the Press Club of India, he was widely regarded as a guiding hand for younger colleagues. His writing earned recognition with the Watumull Award for The Other Side, a series praised for its evocative depth and sharp observations.

    Condolences poured in from colleagues and protégés across the media industry. Furquan Moharkan of Morning Context described him as “the doyen of journalism,” while fellow journalist Parul Chandra remembered him as “a reporter’s editor and a brilliant writer.” The Press Club of India called his passing “an irreparable loss to journalism,” honouring him as a founding presence who upheld integrity and rigour in the profession.

  • Raj Kumar Singh takes charge as senior executive director at Anarock Mumbai

    Raj Kumar Singh takes charge as senior executive director at Anarock Mumbai

    MUMBAI: Raj Kumar Singh, a seasoned real estate professional, has been appointed senior executive director – residential sales at Anarock, Mumbai. With over 23 years in the industry, Singh has played a pivotal role in shaping India’s luxury residential segment.

    Singh began his career at Chesterton Meghraj, Tramell Crow Co, and JLL, where he built high-performing teams, drove revenue growth, and managed marquee clients including the Adani Group and Mariwala family. At JLL, he led Mumbai’s residential services and became senior vice president, overseeing large teams and revenue targets.

    Joining Anarock in 2016 alongside Anuj Puri, Singh helped establish the firm as a premier real estate advisory. As regional director for Mumbai, he spearheaded revenue planning, digital marketing initiatives, CRM integration, and innovative tech adoption, consistently delivering market-leading performance.

    A recognised thought leader, Singh has authored industry articles, appeared on television panels, and participated in prominent property expos. His academic credentials include a postgraduate degree from Welingkar Institute and leadership training at IIM Ahmedabad.

    Singh’s appointment reflects Anarock’s ambition to strengthen its luxury residential portfolio in Mumbai while championing operational excellence, sustainable growth, and customer-centric innovation.
     

  • Akash Nihalani joins RCM as general manager, marketing

    Akash Nihalani joins RCM as general manager, marketing

    MUMBAI: Akash Nihalani, a growth-focused marketing and business leader with over a decade of experience, has taken charge as general manager – marketing at RCM, one of India’s largest direct-selling companies. With a portfolio spanning FMCG, nutraceuticals, personal care, cosmetics, fashion, and accessories, RCM reaches over 2 million households nationwide.

    Nihalani brings a proven track record in building marketing ecosystems, leading cross-functional teams of 30 plus professionals and managing portfolios of Rs 35 crore. He has delivered measurable growth across sectors including FMCG, luxury, BFSI, entertainment, logistics, and technology, consistently improving brand visibility, customer acquisition, and retention through integrated strategies.

    His leadership philosophy blends a builder mindset, business acceleration, and a global-ready approach, combining performance marketing, digital storytelling, and data-led decision-making. At RCM, Nihalani focuses on shaping brand identity, strengthening customer engagement, and scaling marketing communications to create meaningful impact.

    Reflecting on his career, Nihalani recently concluded a chapter at The Minimalist, where he led a 30 plus member team through high-pressure campaigns, describing the experience as a journey of energy, creativity, and collaborative learning. He steps into his RCM role with a purpose-driven outlook, aligning with the company’s values of health, women empowerment, and self-reliance, aiming to contribute to building a stronger, more self-sufficient India.

  • Vijayavani promotes Arun Karadi to senior vice president

    Vijayavani promotes Arun Karadi to senior vice president

    MUMBAI: Vijayavani, Karnataka’s leading daily, has promoted Arun Karadi to senior vice president, recognising his pivotal role in the newspaper’s rise to the top of the state’s media landscape.

    Karadi brings over 24 years of experience in media sales and management, with a track record of performance-driven leadership. Since joining Vijayavani in 2014, he has steered the publication to become Karnataka’s number 1 newspaper, combining editorial integrity with market-savvy initiatives.

    He started his career at Vijaya Karnataka, before moving to the VRL Group and The Times of India, where he honed his skills in sales strategy, brand development and team building. Known for driving advertiser engagement and fostering strong reader connect, Karadi has helped craft Vijayavani’s winning formula in a competitive media market.

     

  • Digital marketing veteran Amit Lall switches to WPP Media as planning lead

    Digital marketing veteran Amit Lall switches to WPP Media as planning lead

    MUMBAI: Amit Lall, a digital marketing stalwart with over two decades in the trenches, has traded his principal partner role at Mindshare for a planning lead position at WPP Media, overseeing the conglomerate’s western and southern Indian operations from Mumbai.

    The move in September ends Lall’s four-year-eight-month stint at Mindshare, where he commanded a team of over 30 professionals whilst juggling a diverse client roster spanning consumer durables, fintech, telecom, pharmaceuticals, and banking. His portfolio included marquee accounts across multiple sectors, positioning him as one of the agency’s key rainmakers in the fiercely competitive western market.

    Before his Mindshare tenure, Lall spent just over a year as senior vice president at DigitalKites Global, where he steered a pioneering audience intelligence platform touching 250 million profiled users—India’s largest first-party audience marketplace. The role saw him managing full profit-and-loss responsibility across markets whilst delivering digital transformation solutions to brands and agencies.

    He has had a fascinating career trajectory. At Omnicom Media Group, he spent over five years crafting digital strategies for western India’s premium clients, earning local and global accolades including Foma and James Burke awards. Earlier, at Mobile2win, he turbocharged mobile advertising revenue by 260 per cent year-on-year during a recession, whilst onboarding 50 new accounts and slashing overheads by 30 per cent.

    Lall’s appointment signals WPP Media’s intent to consolidate its Indian operations under seasoned digital natives who’ve witnessed the subcontinent’s advertising metamorphosis from traditional media to mobile-first strategies. His deep understanding of India’s fragmented media landscape—from pioneering SMS ad networks at Mauj Telecom to managing channel partnerships at Reliance Communications—positions him well to navigate WPP’s evolving client demands.

    The hire comes as global advertising giants scramble to retain top talent in India’s booming digital advertising market, where homegrown expertise commands premium valuations.

  • Adani declares victory over Hindenburg storm as profits soar in letter to shareholders

    Adani declares victory over Hindenburg storm as profits soar in letter to shareholders

    MUMBAI: Gautam Adani has emerged from his regulatory bunker swinging, declaring the Hindenburg Research controversy a “defining inflection point” that strengthened rather than weakened his sprawling business empire.

    In a defiant letter to shareholders, the Indian billionaire framed last week’s Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi)  clearance as complete vindication, proclaiming “truth has prevailed” after nearly two years of scrutiny following the short-seller’s damning January 2023 report.

    The Adani Group chairman marshalled impressive financial firepower to support his narrative of resilience. Portfolio EBITDA rocketed from Rs 57,205 crore in FY23 to Rs 89,806 crore in FY25—a staggering 57 per cent absolute growth representing a two-year compound annual growth rate of 25 per cent.

    Asset expansion proved equally dramatic, with gross block swelling from Rs 4,12,318 crore to Rs 6,09,133 crore over the same period. That Rs two lakh crore addition marks a 48 per cent surge whilst the group battled accusations of accounting manipulation and stock price inflation.

    Adani positioned his conglomerate’s infrastructure achievements as proof of substance over speculation. The group commissioned India’s first container trans shipment port at Vizhinjam, added six gigawatts of renewable capacity including the world’s largest single-location renewable project at Khavda, and completed what it claims is the world’s largest copper smelter.

    The rhetoric veered between wounded pride and renewed ambition. Hindenburg’s assault wasn’t merely corporate criticism, Adani argued, but “a direct challenge to the audacity of Indian enterprises to dream on a global scale.” The implication: attacking Adani amounted to attacking India itself.

    Looking forward, the chairman promised to “further strengthen governance standards,” “accelerate innovation and sustainability,” and “double down on nation building”—language that suggests the controversy has hardly dented his expansionist appetites.

    The letter’s tone reflects broader themes in Indian corporate culture, where business leaders frequently cast commercial success in nationalist terms. For Adani, surviving Hindenburg’s onslaught becomes not just corporate vindication but validation of India’s global ambitions.

    Whether Sebi’s clearance truly closes the book on governance questions remains to be seen. But Adani’s defiant missive makes clear he views the storm as survived rather than merely weathered, with ambitious expansion plans intact.

  • PM hails Sharma’s re-election as NBDA chief with newsworthy praise

    PM hails Sharma’s re-election as NBDA chief with newsworthy praise

    MUMBAI: The news just broke and fittingly, it’s about the man who’s been breaking news for decades. Prime minister Narendra Modi has congratulated India TV chairman and editor-in-chief Rajat Sharma on being re-elected as president of the News Broadcasters and Digital Association (NBDA), calling his leadership “newsworthy” at a time when the media and digital landscape is undergoing seismic shifts.

    In a personal letter, the prime minister lauded Sharma’s decades-long contribution to journalism, describing his credibility and deep subject knowledge as invaluable to the industry. “The Association will benefit from your decades-long experience in journalism, your deep understanding of various subjects, and your credibility. Your guidance will be particularly effective in the media and digital world, undergoing modern transformation,” Modi wrote.

    The prime minister further expressed confidence that under Sharma’s stewardship, the NBDA would raise the standards of journalism to “new heights” while continuing to play a meaningful role in the interests of society and the nation. “Once again, I wish you all the best for this new term and your future endeavours,” he added.

    Sharma’s re-election as president for the 2025–26 term was confirmed at the NBDA’s Board meeting on September 19, 2025. He continues to head India’s largest body of private news broadcasters and digital media players at a time when the lines between legacy and digital journalism are blurring more rapidly than ever.

    Alongside Sharma’s re-election, the new NBDA leadership team was also announced. MV Shreyams Kumar, managing director of Mathrubhumi Printing & Publishing, has been appointed vice-president, while Anuradha Prasad Shukla, chairperson & managing director of News24 Broadcast India, has been named Honorary Treasurer.

    The reappointment cements Sharma’s place as one of the most influential figures in Indian news media. Having steered India TV to become one of the country’s most-watched news channels and leading NBDA through earlier terms, Sharma’s presidency comes at a crucial moment as the sector grapples with challenges of regulation, digital disruption, and audience trust.

    For Sharma, who has spent decades building his reputation as one of India’s most recognisable news anchors and media leaders, the latest endorsement from both peers and the Prime Minister underscores not just his personal clout but also the pivotal role NBDA plays in shaping the future of journalism in India.

    And as Modi’s words suggest, the coming year may see Sharma not just reporting the news, but redefining how India consumes it.
     

  • Mars appoints Nitin Guleria as head of media to lead global strategy

    Mars appoints Nitin Guleria as head of media to lead global strategy

    MUMBAI: Mars has announced the appointment of Nitin Guleria as its new Head of Media, effective September 2025.

    With more than 15 years of experience across global media, marketing, and communications, Guleria brings a wealth of expertise to the role. He joins Mars from Samsung Electronics, where he served as deputy general manager for over seven years, leading media and marketing initiatives across mobile and consumer electronics.

    Prior to Samsung, Guleria held leadership positions at Groupm’s Essence, where he directed cross-media planning for Google’s hardware division, and at Interpublic Group’s Cadreon, specialising in programmatic media strategy. He began his career with Optimise Media Group and Shoogloo, gaining early experience in business development, client servicing, and performance-driven marketing.

    At Mars, Guleria is expected to strengthen the company’s media strategy, drive integrated communications, and deliver impactful consumer engagement across key markets.