ITV

Tag: appointment

  • Hero Vired bolsters leadership team with two key appointments

    Hero Vired bolsters leadership team with two key appointments

    Mumbai: Hero Vired, a homegrown ed-tech company for higher education aspirants and professionals has announced the appointment of Geetika Goel as head of technology and Dr Ankur Sodhi as associate vice president for career services and corporate relations. According to the statement, both leaders will spearhead their respective teams to prepare for the company’s next phase of growth and expansion.

    Goel is a seasoned IT professional with over 20 years of experience building large technology-focused organisations in diverse domains. She commands an in-depth understanding of technology with an ability to recruit, mentor, and grow other tech professionals.

    “Geetika will report directly to the CEO and serve as a technological and business specialist, making decisions that will affect the company’s present and future operations. She will integrate business objectives and strategy into technology vision and requirements, manage a world-class team of engineers, encourage them, and instill a strong engineering culture inside the firm,” said the company. “In addition, she will investigate, compare, select, and deploy technology solutions to meet current and future industry needs.”

    Commenting on her new assignment, Goel said, “I am very excited about working with the leadership teams to create and deliver exceptional outcomes for learners. At the same time, I see a great opportunity to transform Hero Vired into a LearnTech organisation.”

    With over 18 years of experience as an educationist, public speaker and strategic planner, Sodhi has played a vital role in improving the systems at various organisations. In his previous role at upGrad as associate director, career services and corporate relations, Sodhi was actively involved in the learners’ journey and ensured their successful transition from students to professionals.

    “In this role, Sodhi will be responsible for end-to-end student placement preparation and career counselling,” said the statement.

    “Our experts at Hero Vired aim to upskill learners and provide them with better outcomes when they join the workforce or take their careers to the next level,” stated Hero Vired founder and CEO Akshay Munjal. “We are delighted to bring on board Geetika and Dr Ankur to lead two of the most crucial teams for Hero Vired, as we increase our focus on technology and learning outcomes in the coming year.”

    ​​​​​​

  • Jio Haptik brings in Prashant Rao as SVP – customer value & experience

    Jio Haptik brings in Prashant Rao as SVP – customer value & experience

    Mumbai: Jio Haptik Technologies, a conversational AI company and a subsidiary of Reliance Jio Platforms, has brought Prashant Rao on board as senior vice president of customer value and experience. He will serve as the leader for the pre-sales/sales engineering, professional services, and customer success groups to drive consistent, frictionless value-driven outcomes in the customer journey.

    In this role, Rao will spearhead the newly formed customer value and experience business unit, a cohesive organisation responsible for end-to-end customer onboarding and experience with a singular focus on maximising success, said the statement.

    Rao comes with over 20 years of technology experience and has served with several prominent organisations across B2B SaaS, AI/ML, conversational AI, speech technologies, and GRC. Prior to Haptik, he was the leader for global services and customer success at Uniphore and also at MetricStream, working in multiple leadership roles and scaling the company’s business for close to a decade. 

    Leveraging his sharp technical skills and extensive experience, Rao made his way up the corporate ladder and even served with tech giants like Microsoft, Intel, and ANSR Consulting during the early part of his career, said the statement.

    “Haptik’s customer value and experience function has been set up with a key element of our mission to become even more customer-centric than ever. Prashant has a proven record of success in both startups and large tech companies and his arrival marks a critical moment in Haptik’s growth journey,” said Haptik co-founder and CEO Aakrit Vaish. “I am confident that under his leadership, this group will be instrumental in driving customer delight across the depth and breadth of Haptik’s product portfolio to steer us towards becoming a global leader in the conversational AI economy.”

    Over the years, Rao has played the role of a trusted advisor to customers and scaled high-performance teams to drive phenomenal business outcomes of SaaS product-led businesses. Being a startup champion and advisor, he is a known leader in the startup ecosystem of India and is well-revered in the digital transformation technology industry, which has helped him earn valuable experiences during his time in the field collaborating with customers and partners globally.

    Speaking on the appointment, Prashant Rao said, “What co-founders Aakrit and Swapan have created in Haptik is truly special, embracing a growth-oriented work culture at the organization supported by the fueling energy of the team. I would look forward to building on this momentum and bolstering the vision of being the global category leader in the conversational economy and AI/ML technology.”

  • Ullu appoints Nivedita Basu as head of content strategy & business alliances

    Ullu appoints Nivedita Basu as head of content strategy & business alliances

    Mumbai: Homegrown OTT platform Ullu has appointed Nivedita Basu as the head of content strategy and business alliances. Her role will entail developing, creating, and producing original content and leading strategic business alliances for the platform. 

    With over two decades of experience in production and programming, Nivedita is one of the most noteworthy professionals in the entertainment industry. Her most significant stint was with Balaji Telefilms, where she donned the hat of a creative director.  She was key in revolutionising Indian soap series and also spear-headed content creation for leading Indian GEC namely Star, Zee Entertainment, Sony amongst many others. She is lauded for shows like “Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi,” “Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki,” “Kasauti Zindagii Ki,” “Kusum” and has also worked as a creative director for 24 at Anil Kapoor Film Company. Prior to joining Ullu, Nivedita had directed and co-produced its much-talked-about show “Tandoor.”

    Speaking on her appointment, Ullu founder and CEO Vibhu Agarwal said, “As we continue to expand and foray in different domains, Nivedita’s rich and illustrious experience will help us drive our goals. In her capacity, Nivedita will be responsible for not just creating engaging original content but also identifying the right talent for it. She will also lead our existing and new key business alliances.”

    “It gives me immense pleasure to join the vibrant and growing team of Ullu. Its commendable, how in such a short span of time, Ullu has established itself as a key player in the OTT space which offers content across genres,” said Nivedita Basu. “Earlier last year it expanded its library with family viewing shows like Assi Nabbe Poore Sau,  Bulls of Dalal Street, Cyanide and Tandoor amongst others which had some of the best-known talents from the industry along with intriguing concepts.  It is now at a pivotal juncture of diversifying and I join the team to further solidify its premium content offering.  I am really thankful to Vibhu ji for instilling faith in me.  I hope to take Ullu’s premium content domains to new heights and make the brand a one-stop destination of entertainment across domains.”

  • Madhusudhan Rao, Deepak Subramanian join HUL management committee

    Madhusudhan Rao, Deepak Subramanian join HUL management committee

    Mumbai: FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) on Wednesday announced the appointment of Madhusudhan Rao and Deepak Subramanian to its management committee. While Rao is named as HUL executive director – beauty and wellbeing and personal care, Subramanian is HUL executive director – home care.

    Rao takes over from Priya Nair, who is elevated to global role as HUL chief marketing officer – beauty and wellbeing. Subramanian succeeds Prabha Narasimhan, who has decided to leave the company to pursue an external opportunity, HUL said in a statement.

    “Madhusudhan has a successful track record in a variety of operational and strategic roles. He has brought in a strong performance edge in his teams and has pioneered several innovations that uphold Unilever’s high science and technology credentials,” commented HUL chairman and MD Sanjiv Mehta. “Deepak has championed innovation and sustainable strategies to significantly improve brand equity and deliver growth. He has demonstrated superior business acumen in building new categories, primarily in start-up business verticals. I am certain that they will take the business to the next level of performance.”

    Talking about Nair’s contribution to the business, Mehta said, “She has been an active champion for building future skills and experimentation, and has led several path-breaking marketing initiatives such as the Kan Khajura Tesan. Under her leadership, the business witnessed high growth in key categories driven by consumer-centric innovations and award-winning, purpose-driven communication.”

    “Prabha led home care to deliver a strong performance across South Asia over the last two years. She has contributed immensely towards embedding the Clean Future agenda into the Home Care product development strategy,” he further said about Narasimhan.

    Rao joined HUL in 1991 and he is currently serving as Unilever EVP – home and hygiene. In his 30+ years in the company, he demonstrated a strong performance track record in marketing, customer development and brand development roles across geographies. In his current role, Rao helped shape the home and hygiene category as a successful business with a distinctive high-performance culture, said the statement.

    Currently working as VP – home care, South-East Asia/ANZ (SEAA) and global head – fabric enhancers, Subramanian joined HUL in 1995 as a management trainee. He significantly improved the profitability of the business, whilst strengthening top-line growth. In his global role, Subramanian helped transform the fabric enhancers category by driving innovations and re-positioning the brands to have more social impact, according to the company.

    Recently, the company also announced the separation of the position of chairman of the board and the CEO and managing director. HUL announced the appointment of Nitin Paranjpe, currently chief operating officer of Unilever as non-executive chairman of the company, with effect from 31 March. However, Sanjiv Mehta will continue as HUL chief executive officer and managing director.

    The FMCG giant reported a strong all-around performance for the third quarter. The company’s growth was competitive and profitable. The net profit surged to Rs 2,243 with 17 per cent growth year-on-year, according to the statement.

  • Byju’s names Prathyusha Agarwal as India CBO – Early Learn

    Byju’s names Prathyusha Agarwal as India CBO – Early Learn

    Mumbai: Ed-tech major Byju’s has announced the appointment of Prathyusha Agarwal as chief business officer to lead the Early Learn Business vertical.

    In this role, Agarwal will focus on charting the Early Learn portfolio strategy, define, design and deliver the holistic learning consumer offering and drive top-line growth for the business vertical. Early Learn aims to offer personalised and interactive learning programs across digital, physical and live classes for kids aged between four–eight years.  

    On the leadership appointment, Byju’s chief operating officer Mrinal Mohit said, “We are delighted to have Prathyusha onboard with us to lead the Early Learn Business at Byju’s. She has worked with notable brands for over 20 years and holds a wide experience across businesses and sectors. We look forward to working with her to strengthen our business further as well as support her to achieve her vision for Byju’s.”

    Byju’s aims to grow the early learn category to become the market leader in coming years, stated the ed-tech major. Through partnerships and acquisitions such as Osmo, Epic, and WhiteHat Jr, among others, the brand’s early learn category offerings have expanded to include ‘phygital’ learning – a seamless blend of online and offline, collaborative learning, digital reading, gamified approaches to lessons, etc to further accelerate and transform learning for young learners.

    Agarwal’s appointment comes at a time when the firm is gearing up to take these multiple offerings as a holistic learning proposition for Early Learners in the fast-growing Indian market.
    Sharing her thoughts, Prathyusha Agarwal said, “Early Learning is the most formative experience with potential to shape us into learners for life equipped to take on the ever-transforming world. I am super excited to be joining Byju’s and working with the team who are passionate about creating an equal learning ecosystem in the country. Within a short period, Byju’s has revolutionised the education landscape in India and I look forward to furthering the vision of putting early learners at the core of this journey.”

    Before joining Byju’s, Agarwal was the chief consumer and data officer at Zee, where she led the business transformation initiatives and the brand growth mandate across TV and OTT verticals. In her 21+ year career, she has launched Tata’s e-commerce venture TataCLiQ as the head of marketing, worked with HDFC Life as the VP, marketing and analytics and led brand strategy for the Star TV network. She was also the founder director of ‘All OK Tech Support’, worked with Market Gate Consulting and honed marketing skills at HUL in different sales and marketing roles. She is a post-graduate from IIM Ahmedabad, with her graduation in electrical engineering from IIT Madras.

  • Raymond onboards Sunil Kataria as CEO of lifestyle business

    Raymond onboards Sunil Kataria as CEO of lifestyle business

    Mumbai: Raymond on Wednesday announced the onboarding of Sunil Kataria as CEO of lifestyle business.  This new appointment comes at a critical juncture in Raymond’s journey as the fashion apparel space sees numerous international labels entering the Indian market, the company said.

    In his new role, Kataria will be responsible for steering the next phase of growth by driving the digital agenda and strengthening the brand’s presence in domestic and international markets.

    “At Raymond, we believe in having industry’s finest talent that resonates with our vision to create a ‘future ready’ organisation,” said Raymond Ltd chairman and managing director Gautam Hari Singhania. “During the last few years, we have been making stronger strides and creating brands and retail experiences for our loyal and new-age consumers. I would like to welcome Sunil to the Raymond family and believe that he would be instrumental in accelerating growth for the business in India and international markets.”

    The lifestyle business is the flagship vertical of Raymond Group which includes branded textiles, garmenting, shirting, retail and apparel business including brands such as – Raymond, Raymond Ready-to-Wear, Raymond Made to Measure, Park Avenue, ColorPlus, Parx and Ethnix by Raymond.

    During his earlier stint as the CEO of Godrej Consumer Products Ltd, Kataria managed the business operations of India and South East Asia. He spearheaded the transformation of the business – driving performance and best in class financial results and building a great workplace. With a rich experience spanning over three decades, he has worked with eminent names such as Marico and Idea Cellular. Currently, he also serves as the chairman of The Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA).

  • boAt ropes in Rashmika Mandanna as brand ambassador

    boAt ropes in Rashmika Mandanna as brand ambassador

    Mumbai: Homegrown audio and smartphone accessories brand boAt has roped in actor Rashmika Mandanna to promote its wearables category and TRebel collection. The brand has launched a special campaign called #DanceThroughLife to celebrate International Women’s Day.

    With this campaign, the brand has launched an exclusive range of pop-coloured smartwatches designed specifically for women as a part of TRebel collection. Furthermore, the campaign aims to depict how women are doing away with the closeted ideology of what they are expected to be. “Starting 8 March, boAt will add its smartwatches (Vertex, Mercury, Matrix, Blaze and Xtend) to the TRebel collection and unveil the latest limited edition watch straps in various shades,” said the statement.

    “Rashmika is cheerful and fits very well into the brand ethos of boAt with her millennial stance. Through this partnership, we intend to establish our presence in the southern market, along with strengthening our position in the smartwatches category,” said Imagine Marketing Ltd co-founder and CMO Aman Gupta.

    Excited about this new partnership, Rashmika Mandanna added, “’For young India today, boAt represents an audience of choice who are looking to make a statement with their choice of accessories. It’s a brand whose values I admire and identify with as they are walking the talk.  I am thrilled to be a part of the boAt family.”

    The TRebel campaign was launched on Women’s Day last year with eminent faces like Kiara Advani, Bani J and Raja Kumari amongst others. The collection is available on Amazon and Flipkart, and boAt’s website.

    ​​​​​

  • Wow Skin Science brings in Anurag Mittal as CFO

    Wow Skin Science brings in Anurag Mittal as CFO

    Mumbai: FMCG personal care brand Wow Skin Science has announced the onboarding of Anurag Mittal as chief financial officer, where he will head the business and corporate finance vertical for Wow Skin Science and Body Cupid. 

    “In this role, Mittal’s portfolio will range from financial operations, financial planning & analysis to strategic finance & business partnering,” the company said in a statement on Monday.

    “We welcome Anurag onboard as our company CFO and believe he will be a great addition to the Wow Skin Science family,” commented Wow Skin Science co-founder Manish Chowdhary. “As an experienced and a qualified financial professional, we look forward to his insights in setting a mid and long-term financial strategy for the brand. With him, we look forward to creating collaborative and participative interface for finance as well as operations.”

    With his career spanning over 16 years, Mittal has led mandates for brands such as Snapdeal, Paytm, Nokia, PWC and Deloitte, offering his expertise in finance and accounts along with skills in diligence and fund raising, investor relations, treasury operations and investment management. 

    “The growth of a brand lies in it’s analysis led strategic expansion and risk taking, that are worth. At Wow, I plan to propel a culture of security and emphasise on driving performance, ensuring integrity and accuracy of company information,” said Anurag Mittal. “I look forward to enhancing the brand’s valuation and achieve systematic growth.”

  • Enormous onboards Shashwat Manohar as VP & head of digital

    Enormous onboards Shashwat Manohar as VP & head of digital

    Mumbai: Independent creative agency Enormous has brought Shashwat Manohar on board as vice president and head of its digital arm. Based out of the agency’s Gurgaon office, Manohar will work closely with Enormous managing partner Ashish Khazanchi.

    “In this role, Manohar will be in charge of the agency’s full-service digital offerings. He will oversee the agency’s expansion and provide essential digital solutions to existing and new clients in comms and performance,” said the company in a statement.

    Previously, Manohar was associated with FoxyMoron as business director (North). He began his career with AdGlobal360 in Gurgaon before moving on to Wunderman as business director and subsequently Wunderman Thompson’s Network as VP and CSD for the next eight years.

    Manohar has worked for established brands in India, such as Microsoft, Bose, Nestle, Kellogg’s, GSK, Times of India, ITC Hotels, and Honda Cars in his 12 years of digital advertising and transformation experience for businesses across regions. He combines the width of his digital marketing experience with new age communication tools to drive behavioural change for his clients.

    “The advertising industry today has become quite fragmented in terms of service offerings for brands. This poses a challenge for marketers as they switch between multiple agencies and struggle at most times to deliver impactful results across,” said Shashwat Manohar. “My aim therefore is to work closely with the very capable team at Enormous and deliver 360 solutions and campaigns in a consistent and effective manner for brands and businesses.”

    “Shashwat has joined us as vice president and head of Digital, which we are really excited about,” commented Ashish Khazanchi. “We realise the importance of building seamless client and consumer experiences across platforms in an age when the touch points are getting fragmented every minute. Every agency needs to evolve to not just do impactful ads but guide the narratives across platforms. This is a direction we would like to evolve in and Shashwat is going to play an important role with the strategy team in driving this.”

  • Falguni Shah named as MD of EORTV

    Falguni Shah named as MD of EORTV

    Mumbai: India’s first LGBTQ+ OTT platform EORTV has named Falguni Shah as managing director of its OTT business. 

    “Shah will be responsible for the rollout and management of EORTV’s content and revenue. She will also be handling the brand to create awareness for the Indian market,” said the platform in a statement on Monday.

    She will continue to hold her position at the EORTV’s production arm Dreamzz Images Studio as well. “Shah’s expansion of portfolio comes as EORTV continues to expand its commitment to development of the OTT marketplace,” said the statement.

    Shah brings in a decade of experience working with leading broadcast, video-on-demand, and digital companies. She has twelve years of experience in content creation, brand integrations, syndication and marketing.

    Prior to her experience in the entertainment industry, she has held plump positions in the companies like Standard Chartered Finance Ltd, HDFC Standard Life, Tata Teleservices Ltd and BPL (Loop) Mobile, post which she switched from corporate to the content industry joining Dreamzz Images Studio.

    “We have a huge responsibility to entertain our audience with relevant content. Also because LGBTQ is a sensitive topic in India, we are catering to the content demand with utmost care taking into consideration the sentiments of our audiences,” said Falguni Shah. “Content is of prime importance to us. We’ve been building an innovative OTT business which we now plan to further accelerate this year.”