MAM
Adani Marathon hits full stride as powerhouse partners join the race
MUMBAI: Ahmedabad is lacing up for a Sunday sprint of spirit and this year, the Adani Ahmedabad Marathon isn’t just running a race, it’s running the show. Entering its 9th edition on 30 November at the Sabarmati Riverfront, the marathon has evolved from a city event into a full-fledged cultural movement, powered by partners whose combined clout could put most sporting line-ups to shame.
What began as a community run has grown into one of India’s most respected long-distance gatherings, anchored in its stirring ethos: #Run4OurSoldiers, a tribute to the Indian Armed Forces and the people who guard the nation’s heartbeat.
And this year, the partner roster looks like it was built for endurance, strength and national pride.
At the front of the pack is Adani Ports, returning as title partner, lending the event the same scale and credibility with which it runs the country’s largest port network. Ambuja Cement, as the powered by partner, brings its reputation for strong foundations quite literally while Fortune steps in as an associate partner, representing the trust of Indian households.
Defence muscle comes from Adani Defence, aligning naturally with the marathon’s commitment to honouring the Armed Forces. ACC fortifies the line-up as the Trusted Partner, extending its long-standing legacy in reliable building materials.
But the biggest strategic boost comes from the banking track. Axis Bank has signed a three-year partnership as official banking partner, signalling a long-term commitment to community wellbeing and fitness-led living. With Ahmedabad at the centre of Gujarat’s tourism and heritage surge, the bank’s association adds both cultural heft and corporate intent to the marathon’s expanding influence.
The ecosystem doesn’t end there. A slate of key contributors ensures the event runs with military-grade precision:
– KD Hospital, medical partner
– Sabarmati Riverfront, venue partner
– Hyatt, hospitality partner
– 108 Emergency Services, emergency partner
Together, they form a safety net as robust as the run itself.
For Adani Sportsline, chief business officer Sanjay Adesara the partner line-up is the marathon’s real endurance engine. He said the event has become “a cultural movement in the city,” crediting partners across sectors from infrastructure to healthcare for helping the marathon give back to the community and celebrate the real heroes in uniform.
From the banking side, Rakesh Bhojnagarwala, regional branch banking head of West 2, Axis Bank, said the marathon resonates with the bank’s “dil se open” philosophy, celebrating unity, resilience and Ahmedabad’s rising energy. With Gujarat emerging as a cultural and tourism hotspot, he called the association a long-term commitment to nurturing community spirit.
Health partner KD Hospital, represented by COO Parth Desai, highlighted the marathon’s role in shaping not just runners but a stronger civic identity. Calling the event an “integral part of the city’s identity,” he said the spirit of Run4OurSoldiers honours the “unwavering strength” of India’s servicemen and women, a cause the hospital proudly supports.
With big names, bigger purpose, and a loyal community at its heels, the Adani Ahmedabad Marathon looks set to run farther than ever, one stride for fitness, one stride for unity, and thousands for the soldiers who safeguard the nation’s marathon of everyday life.
Brands
Delhivery chairman Deepak Kapoor, independent director Saugata Gupta quit board
Gurugram: Delhivery’s boardroom is being reset. Deepak Kapoor, chairman and independent director, has resigned with effect from April 1 as part of a planned board reconstitution, the logistics company said in an exchange filing. Saugata Gupta, managing director and chief executive of FMCG major Marico and an independent director on Delhivery’s board, has also stepped down.
Kapoor exits after an eight-year stint that included steering the company through its 2022 stock-market debut, a period that saw Delhivery transform from a venture-backed upstart into one of India’s most visible logistics platforms. Gupta, who joined the board in 2021, departs alongside him, marking a simultaneous clearing of two senior independent seats.
“Deepak and Saugata have been instrumental in our process of recognising the need for and enabling the reconstitution of the board of directors in line with our ambitious next phase of growth,” said Sahil Barua, managing director and chief executive, Delhivery. The statement frames the exits less as departures and more as deliberate succession, a boardroom shuffle timed to the company’s evolving scale and strategy.
The resignations arrive amid broader governance recalibration. In 2025, Delhivery appointed Emcure Pharmaceuticals whole-time director Namita Thapar, PB Fintech founder and chairman Yashish Dahiya, and IIM Bangalore faculty member Padmini Srinivasan as independent directors, signalling a tilt towards consumer, fintech and academic expertise at the board level.
Kapoor’s tenure spanned Delhivery’s most defining years, rapid network expansion, public listing and the push towards profitability in a bruising logistics market. Gupta’s presence brought FMCG and brand-scale perspective during a period when ecommerce volumes and last-mile delivery economics were being rewritten.
The twin exits, effective from the new financial year, underscore a familiar corporate rhythm: founders consolidate, veterans rotate out, and fresh voices are ushered in to script the next chapter. In India’s hyper-competitive logistics race, even the boardroom does not stand still.
MAM
Meta appoints Anuvrat Rao as APAC head of commerce partnerships
At Locofy.ai, Rao helped convert a three-year free beta into a paid engine, clocking 1,000 subscribers and 15 enterprise clients within ten days of launch in September 2024. The low-code startup, backed by Accel and top tech founders, is famed for turning designs into production-ready code using proprietary large design models.
Before that, Rao founded generative AI venture 1Bstories, which was acquired by creative AI platform Laetro in mid-2024, where he briefly served as managing director for APAC. Alongside operating roles, he has been an active investor and advisor since 2020, backing startups such as BotMD, Muxy, Creator plus, Intellect, Sealed and CricFlex through a creator-economy-led thesis.
Rao spent over eight years at Google, holding senior partnership roles across search, assistant, chrome, web and YouTube in APAC, and earlier cut his teeth in strategy consulting at OC&C in London and investment finance at W. P. Carey in Europe and the US.
Brands
Brnd.me enters Europe as haircare brands power global expansion
Bengaluru: Brnd.me, the global consumer brands company formerly known as Mensa Brands, has entered the European market following strong momentum across the Middle East, the United States and Canada.
The company has launched across the UK, Germany, France and Spain, with plans to expand into Italy, the Netherlands and Poland over the next year. The push is being led by its haircare and aromatherapy brands, Botanic Hearth and Majestic Pure, marking Brnd.me’s first structured expansion into Europe.
The European beauty market represents a total addressable opportunity of over $4 billion across haircare and aromatherapy, supported by high digital adoption and demand for accessible, performance-led products.
Brnd.me’s hair care and aromatherapy business currently operates at an annual run rate of around $6 million, with Botanic Hearth and Majestic Pure delivering roughly 10 per cent month-on-month growth, driven by expansion and rising repeat demand.
To support regional growth, the company has appointed a general manager based in Germany and is evaluating investments in warehousing and local team expansion.
Early traction has been strong. Within weeks of launch, Botanic Hearth’s rosemary hair oil ranked among the top five hair oils in Germany, signalling strong consumer pull in a competitive market.
Brnd.me founder and chief executive officer Ananth Narayanan, said Europe represents the next phase of the company’s international strategy. He added that the European business is expected to scale to a $10 million annual run rate by the end of 2026, with long-term ambitions to reach $60 million over the next six years.
The company’s Europe strategy centres on digital-first distribution, repeat demand and TikTok-led discovery, alongside direct-to-consumer expansion to strengthen brand equity and margins.
The move also aligns with growing EU–India trade engagement, supporting long-term sourcing and cross-border supply chains.
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