Category: People

Mumbai, PPL India a music licensing company controlling over 4 million domestic and international sound recordings in several languages, is pleased to announce the appointment of Sanjay Tandon, an esteemed figure in copyright administration and the current CEO of the Indian Singers’ Rights Association (ISRA) as an independent director.

He has been in the industry for the past 27 years and he was the one who started the movement of Collective Management of Copyright in Music India. This is a momentous occasion that aims to bring artists/musicians and music companies together to ensure a thriving and equitable environment for all stakeholders.

Speaking about his appointment, Tandon expressed, “I am honoured to join the Board of Directors of PPL India. I strongly believe that by fostering collaboration, understanding, and unity, we can create a thriving ecosystem that benefits all stakeholders. I look forward to working with the board and the management team to ensure that PPL India continues its growth story. I also look forward to contributing my might in bringing about a good copyright environment in India where copyright is respected and both user and artist/owner communities stand to prosper collectively.”

“I am delighted to welcome Mr. Sanjay Tandon as an Independent Director on the Board of PPL India. With his strategic vision and the pivotal role he has been playing in addressing industry challenges, Sanjay will help PPL bridge together the music artist fraternity together with the repertoire owners to create adherence within the marketplace.” said PPL India chairman Mandar Thakur.

“With this major step of our CEO Shri Sanjay Tandon joining the Board of PPL, the bond between singers & musicians and music companies is strengthened further. We are all very assured that with this step and with his experience and expertise, the music industry will now grow further for the benefit of all,” said ISRA chairman Anup Jalota.

“We extend a warm and enthusiastic welcome to Mr. Sanjay Tandon as he joins PPL India’s esteemed Board of Directors. His extensive expertise and profound understanding of copyright matters, along with his significant experience in the Indian music industry, make him a valuable addition to PPL’s Board,” said PPL India MD G.B. Aayeer.

Mumbai: Bullish about the potential and the increasing adoption by clients of the Ipsos Digital platforms and its bouquet of offerings, Ipsos India has appointed Neha Munshi as country lead, Ipsos Digital with immediate effect.

Her remit is to take Ipsos Digital offerings to current and prospective accounts for their repertoire of consumer surveys and provide a glitch free experience to clients in exécution of projects. She will be guided by Ipsos India country service line leader, innovation Anthony Dsouza and has been provided with a six-member team of a young bunch of enthusiastic market researchers, in her crusade to achieve the company’s ambitious vision. 

Commenting on the appointment, Ipsos India country service line leader, innovation Anthony Dsouza said, “Ipsos Digital boasts an exceptional array of flagship products, including FastFacts, Creative Spark, Duel, InnoTest, and more. These offerings stand out for their innovation and speed, coupled with the convenience of user-friendly options like DIY and DIY+Researcher Assistance. This empowers clients to seamlessly launch projects in India around the clock, 24X7, ensuring swift and efficient results. Munshi’s remarkable leadership has been evident in her adept management of key accounts, driving increased adoption of our digital platform. Her unique position makes her the ideal candidate to capitalize on opportunities across diverse sectors.”

“Each product range is meticulously designed to address specific business inquiries through cutting-edge online data collection methods,” stated Dsouza (underlining the precision and efficacy that underpins the product lineup). 

“These offerings, combined with Munshi’s expertise, embody Ipsos Digital’s commitment to providing actionable insights that empower decision-makers in an increasingly dynamic and fast-paced landscape,” he added.

Ipsos India CEO Amit Adarkar said, “Over 80% of our client work continues to be via offline data collection methodologies and face-to-face interviews. We launched Ipsos Digital during the pandemic, when we were thrown into lockdowns and restrictions, and we wanted client work to continue without any disruption. Post re-opening, clients continue to leverage the digital opportunity over and above all the specialized  custom work  we do for them, across our service lines. This is akin to omnichannel – brick and mortar and online – enabling clients to flit across and not being stopped by office hours and take the online route via DIY, pay online and get the results in real time.”             

“In an ever-growing DIY market, we bring a unique alternative that combines technology with state-of-the-art knowledge and applies our principles of Security, Simplicity, Speed and Substance. The growing digital opportunity is something we are cognizant of and believe it will only grow by leaps and bounds,” added Adarkar.

Mumbai: Ankit Gulati has been appointed as the national head – content solutions and digital sales at ABP Digital, marking a significant development in the media industry. With 15 years of experience, Gulati brings a wealth of expertise to drive ABP Digital’s growth in content solutions and digital sales, solidifying the company’s position in the dynamic media landscape.

Throughout his career, Gulati demonstrated exceptional proficiency in sales, with a profound understanding of its processes and operations. He has worked with leading names in the media domain, making him a formidable force in the industry.

Ankit Gulati’s media journey began with Reliance Broadcast Network, providing valuable insights into the industry’s workings. He further honed his skills at Radio Mirchi, Times Network, and CNN-News18, developing a keen sense of audience preferences and content trends.

His passion for innovation and content excellence led him to join Sony Pictures and PVR Cinemas. At Sony Pictures, Gulati contributed to successful marketing and content strategies, ensuring consistent audience engagement. His tenure at PVR Cinemas enriched his perspective on the media and entertainment ecosystem, exploring the realm of cinema advertising.

Mumbai: Cyrus Poonawalla Group, a diversified group of businesses across Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology, Finance, Clean Energy, Hospitality & Realty and Aviation appoints Keki Mistry, former HDFC Ltd. CEO & vice chairman as the strategic advisor to all the financial services ventures spearheaded by Adar Poonawalla.

With over four decades of experience, Mistry is one of the most respected professionals in the Indian Financial Services industry. Mistry had served as the CEO and vice chairman of HDFC Ltd since 2010. Post its merger with HDFC Bank, he joined the bank as an additional & non- executive director (Non-Independent) on 30 June 2023. He is also the non-executive chairman of HDFC Ergo General Insurance Company Ltd.

Welcoming Keki on board, Poonawalla said, “To begin with, Keki’s unparalleled operating and boardroom experience in the Indian financial services sector will act as the perfect sounding board for all financial services business management teams to scale their profitability through prudent risk management while managing business volatility.”

Mistry stated, “As I move out of executive responsibilities at HDFC Ltd – I am excited to guide the financial services businesses spearheaded by Adar in achieving their business plans whilst delivering responsible shareholder returns. I look forward to working with the young & dynamic management teams by leveraging my operating and board experience in financial services.”

Mumbai: Peregrine Guarding, India’s largest private security company and a part of Tenon Group, has elevated Brig Mayank Awasthi as the managing director for the north and north-east region.

Awasthi has had a distinguished career spanning over 33 years in the Indian Army. Awasthi is a highly experienced professional who has served in crucial missions such as the IPKF in Sri Lanka and the UN mission in Colombo.

Having transitioned to the corporate sector in October 2022, he joined Tenon Group as the associate director of operations for Delhi NCR and the Upper North region. As the managing director for the North region, Awasthi would oversee operations, drive revenue growth, and ensure efficient collection processes for the region.

On his new responsibility, Awasthi said, “As I embark on this journey with the new role, I would like to thank the leadership at Tenon Group for their constant trust and support. Throughout my career, I have successfully motivated teams to perform their best, and I hope to do the same in my new role at Peregrine Guarding. I look forward to this new chapter.”

Tenon Group global chairman Major Manjit Rajain said, “Brig Awasthi’s exemplary service in the Indian Army and his expertise in diverse subject matter, from security and disaster management to budgeting and logistics, is a huge advantage to Peregrine Guarding. His unwavering confidence, determination, and persistence have brought him to this level, and we are looking forward to working with him in this capacity.”

Awasthi’s proficiency in leveraging technology and implementing advanced systems, honed during his time in the military, makes him well-equipped to achieve results efficiently. Moreover, he possesses subject matter expertise in diverse areas, including security, infrastructure building, budgeting, disaster management, logistics, defense consulting, surveillance systems, and procurement.

Mumbai: Dentsu Creative India has announced the appointment of Aneesh Jaisinghani as senior group executive creative director. Reporting to Dentsu Creative India chief creative officer – North Joy Mohanty, he will bring a wealth of experience and creative prowess to elevate the agency’s capabilities and solidify its position as a center for quality, innovation, and exceptional work.

Aneesh will play a significant role in leading the creative teams responsible for key clients such as Maruti Suzuki and Pernod-Ricard brands. With an unwavering focus on modern creativity, his mission is to foster a dynamic and visionary creative culture that empowers the agency to curate campaigns that truly connect with its clients at a profound level.

Prior to this, Aneesh was the senior executive creative director at Cheil India, where he successfully led Samsung’s mobile business. With a career spanning over 20 years, he has worked with agencies such as Lintas, Grey, Contract, and Bates. Aneesh’s exceptional work has been recognised with more than 75 awards in prestigious national awards shows, including Abbys, Goafest, and Kyoorius. Moreover, his creativity and talent have earned him numerous accolades and nominations in renowned international awards like Cannes and Spikes.

Speaking on the appointment, Joy Mohanty said, “Aneesh is amongst the finest designers in the country. He has consistently spearheaded groundbreaking projects for Samsung Mobiles, a brand known for its tech-forwardness and innovation. Additionally, he has been a driving force behind numerous award-winning purpose-driven initiatives. This unique blend makes him an invaluable leader to lead the charge in our pursuit of Modern Creativity.”

Aneesh added, “Dentsu India has been consistently at the forefront of its game for the past 7-8 years. The crowning of Dentsu Creative India as ‘The Agency of the Year’ at Cannes Lions 2022 serves as a definitive testament to its unrivaled standing in the industry. Furthermore, with an extensive list of esteemed clients, dentsu India stands as one of the most thrilling networks to be associated with in the present day. So, when the opportunity to be a part of dentsu came my way, it was a no brainer!”

Dentsu Creative India made a remarkable impact from its very inception, taking the world by storm when it was honoured as the ‘Agency of The Year’ at the prestigious Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity in 2022 – a historic first for India. Its achievements included securing a Titanium award, as well as three Grand Prix, two Gold Lions, and three Silver Lions. Dentsu Creative India continues to achieve outstanding success, exemplified by its recent accomplishment of three Bronze Lions at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. Alongside this recognition, the agency has also won notable brands as clients, further cementing its position as a prominent player in the industry.

Mumbai: DDB Tribal has announced the appointment of Purva Ummat as the Group Creative Director. With this appointment, the agency aims to further their innovative and data-driven creative solutions in a truly media agnostic way. Ummat will report to Iraj Fraz, who heads creative for DDB Tribal.

Prior to this, Ummat was with Dentsu Creative where she played a significant role in launching Nykaa Fashion. In her decade long career, she has also worked on prestigious brands such as Aditya Birla Group, Paytm First Games, Marico. Her journey as a creative leader began early with agencies such as Dentsu Creative, McCann Worldgroup, Ogilvy and was recognised at forums such as Social Samosa 30 under 30. 

Commenting on her new role, Ummat said, When it comes to thinking fresh and out of the box, DDB has been making all the roll noises. And DDB’S recent Network of the Year win at Cannes Lions 2023 shows the strength of their creative prowess. I am eager to add to this infectious energy and creative strength in Delhi.”

Fraz shared his thoughts, “DDB Tribal brings together digital-first thinking and classic insight-driven advertising, and Purva is made of the same ilk. The work she has created over the years stands as a testimony to the extraordinary energy she brings to every creative opportunity. As the most senior addition to our creative team, Purva is going to lead some of our key brands.”

Mumbai: OMTV, one of India’s leading media networks, is delighted to announce that Eika Chaturvedi Banerjee has come on board as its new chief evangelist. With a remarkable track record in diverse fields and a deep connection to ancient wisdom, Eika is set to embark on an exciting journey with OMTV, overseeing the company’s growth strategy and development. Her arrival marks a significant milestone for the organisation as she joins hands with seasoned leader Nitin Jai Shukla to lead OMTV into a new era of success.

Eika Banerjee is a pioneering figure in India’s business landscape, widely recognised for her outstanding leadership and dedication to harnessing ancient wisdom to address contemporary challenges. As the founder of ‘Eikam Resonance,’ an organisation that draws inspiration from time-tested wisdom, history, mythology, and literature to offer innovative solutions to modern-day issues, her unique approach seamlessly aligns with OMTV’s vision for growth and innovation.

As a chevening gurukul fellow for leadership & excellence from the University of Oxford, Eika brings a remarkable blend of traditional knowledge and contemporary management practices. Renowned as one of India’s leading corporate mythologists, she has penned the best-selling book “52 Red Pills,” captivating readers with insights on organisational transformation, engagement, diversity, and inclusion.

OMTV founder Nitin Jai Shukla said, “We are thrilled to welcome Eika Chaturvedi Banerjee as she partners our growth at OMTV. Her extraordinary background and deep understanding of ancient wisdom combined with modern business practices make her a critical enabler of our growth aspirations. This association is of paramount importance to us, and we firmly believe that Eika’s expertise will play a pivotal role in shaping OMTV’s future growth trajectory. We are excited about the possibilities ahead and look forward to achieving many more milestones of structured growth together.”

Eika’s professional journey spans over two decades, encompassing roles in private banking, general management, and entrepreneurship. With valuable experience from esteemed institutions such as Standard Chartered Bank, ABN Amro (now RBS), Citi, and Kotak, she honed her skills as an entrepreneur while successfully operating her wealth consultancy ‘Finsutra’ in India and Singapore.

In her most recent corporate role, Eika demonstrated her ability to nurture business development and leadership acumen as the CEO of Future Sharp Skills Ltd.

As OMTV extends a warm welcome to Eika Banerjee as the organisation anticipates an exciting and innovative future. Eika’s deep-rooted understanding of age-old Indian wisdom infuses a unique perspective, blending the best of the past with the potential of the future.

Eika Banerjee said, “As chief growth evangelist at OMTV, I am elated to collaborate on expanding the wisdom of Indian heritage globally. Promoting the growth of wisdom worldwide aligns perfectly with my own passion and purpose. Together, we’ll weave a tapestry of enlightenment, touching hearts and minds across the globe, enriching lives with the profoundly relevant wisdom from the Indian ancients.”.

Eika’s appointment as chief evangelist underscores OMTV’s commitment to leveraging her wisdom and expertise to fuel its expansion and development. In collaboration with Nitin Shukla and other esteemed leaders, she will lead initiatives that harmoniously blend modern management practices with insights gleaned from ancient wisdom, propelling OMTV to new heights in the dynamic media landscape.

Mumbai: Dharampal Satyapal Group (DS Group), a multi-business corporation and a leading FMCG conglomerate has announced the appointment of Jyotiroop Barua as the business head of Dharampal Satyapal Foods Ltd (confectionery). He will spearhead the business strategy and growth of DSFL while consolidating DS Group’s presence in the segment.

Jyotiroop Barua comes with over 30 years of FMCG experience across channels and zones having handled both domestic and international business. A business transformation leader, with deep understanding of sales & marketing, distribution, strategy, and operations in the consumer goods space, he has worked with MTR, Dabur and Anheuser-Busch InBev, Dunkans Industries Ltd., The Assam Company Ltd. to name a few. 

“It’s an exciting time for us and our team is geared up for an extremely successful decade ahead as we consolidate our position as one of the leading Indian FMCG majors. As we continue to evolve with the rapidly changing business landscape, we are delighted to welcome Mr. Barua to the DS family. With his extensive experience, we look forward to the market insights and fresh ideas that he brings to the table and are confident of his ability to grow our already well-established confectionery business,” said DS Group  vice chairman Rajiv Kumar.  

“DS Group has grown at a tremendous pace in the last few years with the evolving consumer needs and is recognized amongst the top three players in the non-chocolate FMCG segment in India. I am very excited to take the reins and help steer the company to new heights. Post entry into the chocolate segment, which is primarily dominated by MNCs, DS Group looks promisingly at the next decade to further consolidate its position in the confectionery business,” said Barua upon assuming his new role at DS Group. 

Barua has a Master’s and Bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Mumbai.

Mumbai: Pocket FM has announced the appointment of Pannagadatta K. Shivaswamy as the director of Artificial Intelligence (AI). In this role, Shivaswamy will spearhead the company’s AI initiatives, shaping the future of content personalisation and enhancing user experiences. Additionally, he will be responsible for overseeing the integration of voice assistants and content analytics, and playing a pivotal role in advancing Pocket FM’s generative AI capabilities. 

With an impressive track record in the AI field and extensive expertise in machine learning, recommender systems and personalisation, he brings a wealth of knowledge to Pocket FM. His strategic vision and technical prowess make him an invaluable addition to the company’s tech leadership.

With over 14 years of experience, Shivaswamy held significant positions at leading internet organisations like Netflix and LinkedIn. He specialises in large-scale machine learning and deep learning, focusing on personalisation, recommender systems, ranking, and search. Shivaswamy’s recent research interest also covers topics such as fairness, interpretability, calibration, causal inference, reinforcement learning, and LLMs.

“We warmly welcome Pannagadatta to lead our AI innovation,” said Pocket FM co-founder & CTO Prateek Dixit. “His extensive AI experience and deep understanding of the audio entertainment industry resemble our stature of work as we continue to innovate and enhance our platform. We believe his leadership will accelerate our AI initiatives, including voice assistants, audio analytics, content analytics, and delivering personalised and immersive audio experiences to our users.”

Shivaswamy will spearhead Pocket FM’s AI strategy, driving innovation in content recommendation systems, voice assistants, and audio analytics. He will work closely with the engineering and content teams to develop and deploy advanced AI models that revolutionise the way users discover and engage with audio content.

“I am honoured to join Pocket FM and have the opportunity to contribute to the growth and evolution of the audio entertainment industry,” said Shivaswamy. “Pocket FM has already established itself as a frontrunner in the entertainment space with a completely new audio series category, and I look forward to leveraging AI’s power to enhance its capabilities and create immersive experiences for millions of our users.”

In addition to his contributions to machine learning, he authored over 25 publications, presenting papers at prestigious conferences such as NeurIPS, ICML, KDD, WSDM, RecSys, JMLR, and JAIR. The impact of his work is demonstrated by over 1600 citations. Additionally, he holds six issued U.S. patents, showcasing his innovative thinking and problem-solving abilities.

Besides his professional excellence, he actively contributes to the academic community, serving on program committees and reviewing papers for renowned conferences and journals, including FAccT, KDD, NeurIPS, ECMLPKDD, ICML, AAAI, JMLR, and MLJ.

Shivaswamy holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Columbia University and a Master’s degree in Systems Science and Automation from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, in addition to a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Engineering from S.J.C.E., University of Mysore.