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Tag: director

  • Maruti Suzuki shuffles executive deck

    Maruti Suzuki shuffles executive deck

    MUMBAI: Maruti Suzuki has turbocharged its leadership lineup with two heavyweight appointments that promise to rev up the company’s strategic engines.

    Sunil Kakkar, a 35-year veteran of the automotive trenches, will slide into the director (corporate planning) role from 1 April 2025. An IIT Kanpur engineer with an MBA  gold medal, Kakkar arrives with a portfolio that reads like a automotive industry roadmap—from supply chain mastery to international joint venture architecting.

    His corporate credentials include chairing industry bodies like SIAM’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat Sourcing Group and holding directorial seats across multiple associate companies. With awards like supply chain leader of the year, Kakkar has the right credentials. 

    Joining the corporate pit crew is Tapan Sahoo, designated head of digital enterprise and information & cyber security. An IIT Delhi alumnus with a PhD and “fellow” status from prestigious engineering academies, Sahoo brings 33 years of technology management firepower.

    His brief? Turbocharg digital transformation, leverage AI/ML  technologies, and collaborate with startups and academia. With multiple patents and research publications under his belt, Sahoo looks set to be Maruti Suzuki’s digital alchemist.

    These appointments signal Maruti Suzuki’s intent to blend traditional automotive expertise with cutting-edge technological innovation—a strategic chess move in an increasingly complex mobility landscape.

  • Arise unveils new governing body for 2025

    Arise unveils new governing body for 2025

    MUMBAI: The Association for Reinventing School Education (Arise) has introduced its governing body for 2025 during its first annual general meeting (AGM) held at Ficci  on 13 December 2024. Attended by members from across the nation, including the Arise board, state chairs, and representatives from Ficci, the meeting focused on the announcement of the new leadership team.

    The newly inducted members of the ARISE Governing Body are:
    –  . Praveen Raju  – Founder of Suchitra Academy and president of Arise
    –  . Arunabh Singh  – Director at Healthy Planet TGA and Nehru World School, senior vice president of Arise
    –  . (Ms.) Silpi Sahoo  – Chairperson of Sai International Education Group, vice president of Arise

    –  . Vardan Kabra  – Co-Founder and Head of School at Fountain Head School, vice president of Arise
    –  . Vedant Khaitan  – Vice Chairperson of Khaitan Welfare Foundation, vice president of Arise

    Additionally,  . Prabhat Jain , Director at Pathways World School, will assume the role of immediate past president for 2025.

    In his farewell speech, outgoing president   Shishir Jaipuria commended   Jain’s leadership, noting his pivotal role in transitioning ARISE into a robust entity with an operational secretariat aimed at enhancing the school education landscape in India.   Jain stated, “Arise  has been at the forefront of significant reforms in the education sector, laying the groundwork for its future as a leading voice for school reforms.”

    Incoming President   Praveen Raju expressed gratitude and a commitment to progress: “I am honored to lead Arise in 2025. Our members are forward-thinking, and with the support of the secretariat, we will work diligently to elevate Arise  to new heights.”

     Raju was welcomed by   Manit Jain, Co-Founder of Heritage Schools and Director at Arise , with coordination by   Vinesh Menon, Director General & CEO of Arise.

    Founded in 2016 and reconstituted as a not-for-profit independent chamber in March 2024, Arise is dedicated to transforming K-12 education in India, providing a platform for collaboration, research, and advocacy for policy reforms to foster holistic student development.

  • MAGGI launches new campaign; creating ‘moments of togetherness’ for families to spend time together

    MAGGI launches new campaign; creating ‘moments of togetherness’ for families to spend time together

    Mumbai: MAGGI has been an integral part of Indian households for over four decades and always brought people together. The new campaign celebrates meaningful moments of togetherness that can spark conversations, laughter, and lasting memories, encouraging families to create moments of togetherness.

    Commenting on the new campaign, Nestlé India director, food business, Rajat Jain said, “The campaign addresses a pressing issue that resonates with a lot of families in the present day. Family members living under the same roof often struggle to get moments of togetherness. MAGGI, being a beloved brand for all members of the family, addresses this challenge by creating joyful and spontaneous moments of fun for the entire family in just two minutes. This is the central idea for our campaign “Rishte Maange, Bas Do Minute”. We hope the campaign will bring a smile to everyone’s face and further deepen MAGGI’s relationship with consumers.”

    The campaign has been conceptualised by McCann and is a 360-degree activation across TV, Digital, OOH and a consumer activation via digital.

  • News18 Lokmat hosts a successful Navi Mumbai conclave highlighting real estate growth and opportunities

    News18 Lokmat hosts a successful Navi Mumbai conclave highlighting real estate growth and opportunities

    Mumbai: News18 Lokmat successfully hosted the Navi Mumbai conclave, an exclusive event that brought together industry experts to discuss the growing real estate landscape in Navi Mumbai. Held on January 31st, the conclave featured meaningful conversations surrounding growth prospects and emerging opportunities in the region’s real estate sector.

    The event witnessed the presence of industry leaders, including Housing Minister Shri Atul Save, who talked about the government’s efforts in developing Navi Mumbai and its future. Followed by Minister Save’s perspective on creating impactful strategies and initiatives to foster the city’s growth.  

    The major highlight of the event was an engaging panel discussion with prominent guests including Mr. Shahaji Patil, Managing Committee Member Builders Association of Navi Mumbai (BANM) & Partner of SM Developers, Builders Association of Navi Mumbai; Mr. Devang Trivedi, Trustee of Builders Association of Navi Mumbai (BANM) &, MD, Progressive group, Builders Association of Navi Mumbai (BANM).

    During the discussion, the panelists engaged in compelling discussions on affordable and luxury housing, and the various factors that influence the real estate market dynamics in Navi Mumbai. The Navi Mumbai conclave promises to offer viewers an exclusive insight into the deliberations and key takeaways from the event. The event was co-presented by News18 Lokmat and Chetak Minerals.

  • Sanjeev Misra joins Yoho’s board as an executive director

    Sanjeev Misra joins Yoho’s board as an executive director

    Mumbai: Yoho, India’s fastest growing D2C footwear brand, has appointed Sanjeev Misra as executive director, effective 1 November. He is also an investing partner holding equity in the startup.

    Misra has over three decades of experience in the corporate world. Prior to joining Yoho, he spent more than five years as the senior vice president & director of Paytm, where he led B2B commerce and global exports & imports.

    His leadership approach has been built around sharp prioritization and focus, growing businesses and brands through innovation, transforming sales, driving productivity, while building teams with the right structure, talent, and culture.

    Prior to Paytm, Misra held the position of vice president – group business & renewables at the Adani Group for almost 3 years. He was responsible for accelerating sales, building strategic planning and overall business development, including corporate governance & IT, telecom. Additionally, he was managing large-scale projects at the firm. Before that, he has spent over a decade in Silicon Valley, working for brands including Motorola Semiconductors, Cisco Systems, Adobe, Compaq Computers and Silicon Graphics.

    Commenting on his appointment, Misra said, “I feel both honoured and humbled on being appointed as the executive director of one of the fastest growing and innovative Indian footwear brands. I’m also excited about the journey ahead in this fascinating space. The Indian footwear industry has the potential to grow 10 folds in the coming years. According to some recent reports, the revenue in the footwear market in India amounts to $23.73 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow annually by 6.77 per cent, CAGR 2022-2027. At Yoho, I look forward to building on the versatile brand that believes in offering comfortable and stylish footwear that cost less than half of the ones offered by popular global giants.”

    Yoho founder Ahmad Hushsham said, “We are delighted to welcome Misra, first as one of our angel investors and now as our executive director. He has played an instrumental role in our strategic development in the initial stage of coming out of stealth mode.”

    Yoho founder Prateek Singhal said, “We are privileged to have Misra join Yoho at this opportune time when we are looking at building and investing in new technology to build new product propositions and directly support our long-term strategic plan. In his new capacity as an executive director we will seek his guidance to scale up the business and expand the consumer base as we continue to disrupt the footwear market with our state-of-the-art technology and AI-powered solutions to create high-performance footwear that is affordable for all.”

    Recently, Yoho raised Rs 20 crore in a Series A round of funding by a group of influential investors, led by Softbank Vision Fund CEO Rajeev Misra, Rukam Capital, and Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma, along with participation from other investors.

    Founded in 2021, Yoho has already sold 1,00,000+ pairs of footwear after coming out of stealth mode four months back, with just three products – Bubbles, Waves, and Breeze. The products designed with orthopedic ergonomics are available for both men and women across all top e-commerce platforms. Before launching the product lines, Yoho created almost 700 prototypes before settling for the right product line. Each prototype went through stringent tests to ensure that customers get a product that is super comfortable and long-lasting.

  • Colors Tamil to premiere ‘Sarvam Thaala Mayam’

    Colors Tamil to premiere ‘Sarvam Thaala Mayam’

    Mumbai: Colors Tamil is all set to unravel the fascinating journey of a mridangam prodigy with the world television premiere of Sarvam Thaala Mayam.

    The movie, starring GV Prakash Kumar and Nedumudi Venu, will be broadcast on 6 November, at 2:00 p.m. Watch the Tamil version of Colors to hear a happy, lyrical story that will warm your heart.

    Rajiv Menon directed the film, which also stars Elango Kumaravel, Aparna Balamurali, Vineeth, and Dhivyadharshini in supporting roles. AR Rahman’s harmonious rendition of songs in the film will greatly enhance the viewing experience.

    The film begins with Peter (GV Prakash Kumar) as a carefree individual who indulges in his own desires and is an ardent fan of Illayapathi Vijay, despite the fact that his father, Johnson (Elango Kumaravel), wants him to follow in his footsteps and become a singing sensation. Despite his reservations, he meets renowned mridangam player Vembu Iyer (Nedumudi Venu) and is captivated by his abilities, wishing to become his disciple.

    In the meantime, he develops a rivalry with Mani (Vineeth), Iyer’s assistant. The rest of the story revolves around Peter’s journey to stardom through melody and the challenges he faces along the way.

    Commenting on the WTP, director Rajiv Menon says, “The film explores the charm of music in the midst of caste conflicts. I am glad to restart my career after a hiatus of 19 years with Sarvam Thaala Mayam. It was a wonderful experience working with the entire cast and crew and delving into the carnatic scene while touching upon the diverse tonalities of harmony the country has. I am extremely happy that the movie is premiering on Colors Tamil, and I can assure viewers that it will be a visual treat for families altogether.”

    Adding to this, actor GV Prakash Kumar said, “It was indeed a role that fits my reality. Playing an aspiring musician provides me with nostalgia about my own struggling days, owing to which the film and character are really close to my heart. With the world television premiere of Sarvam Thaala Mayam, this weekend will be worth looking forward to for audiences.”

  • CommsCredible elevates Priyanka Wadhwa & Neena Biswal as co-founders

    CommsCredible elevates Priyanka Wadhwa & Neena Biswal as co-founders

    Mumbai: On its 2nd anniversary, India-headquartered PR tech start-up, CommsCredible has announced the addition of two women co-founders in its leadership team. The bootstrapped start-up has elevated Priyanka Wadhwa, from head of strategy & operations, to co-founder and chief strategy officer and Neena Biswal, from head of South office, to co-founder & director.

    Born during the covid pandemic, the company has won numerous prestigious awards in a very short span of time, which include ETBrandEquity’s ‘Emerging Agency of the Year’, Agency Reporter’s ‘Fastest Growing Agency of the Year’, and Inskpell Media’s ‘Best Consulting Start-up of the Year’, apart from winning many other for its partner clients at forums such a Mint-TechCircle, Campaign India, IDC etc.

    Commenting on her elevation, Wadhwa said, “The collective vision and future of CommsCredible is very exciting to me. The opportunities are endless when it comes to the play of technology in PR, as well as its business and community impact. I look forward to taking our business strategy to the next level as we head towards a global scale up in the next phase.”

    Added Biswal, “I am happy to be part of this growth journey of CommsCredible. Since inception, I have been privy to how we have grown incredibly through word of mouth and good storytelling, without having to focus on business development. It’s a very interesting time for us as a company, as we add technology to grow asset-lite, expand our client portfolio, and strengthen our offerings to become a preferred partner for brands from diverse industries.”

    In her previous role, Wadhwa was heading the company’s business strategy and operations, while Biswal’s prior role included responsibilities such as strengthening media relations and taking an integrated communications approach for partner brands.   

    Talking about CommsCredible’s success story, founder Aman Dhall said, “Our client and media community have helped us build a strong backbone and led our growth journey. We have been focused on improving collaboration with the media, and enhancing client experience from day zero. That will stay our focus going forward as well. We are very proud of our team having diverse industry experience, as well as great business and media understanding for effective storytelling.”  

    CommsCredible is currently working with 20+ partner brands across diverse sectors. Its partner clients include early-stage consumer internet startups such as BASIC Home Loan, Onsurity, Sugmya Finance, global VC firms, technology brands such as Picus Capital, PTC Inc., CAST Software and prominent Indian brands such as Grant Thornton Bharat, In-Solutions Global (ISG) and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance.

    Currently, it has presence across key geographies in India, including Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore & Delhi, and overseas in Europe and the US. The company’s vision is to build a credible community, which thrives on factual information and authentic storytelling that builds trust within the media and communication ecosystem.

  • Netflix elevates Ankit Gokani to India director – VFX

    Netflix elevates Ankit Gokani to India director – VFX

    Mumbai: Netflix has elevated Ankit Gokani to the position of India director – VFX, according to his LinkedIn update.

    Gokani has been associated with the streaming platform for more than three years. He joined Netflix as VFX specialist – international originals, India. He was later promoted to India manager – VFX in November 2019.

    He has more than a decade of experience working in the film industry, with a thorough understanding of post-production and VFX.

    Prior to Netflix, he worked with production houses such as Method Studios, Industrial Light and Magic, Double Negative, Jar Pictures, and Rhythm and Hues.

  • CNN Digital Worldwide names Steve George as director, Asia-Pacific

    CNN Digital Worldwide names Steve George as director, Asia-Pacific

    Mumbai: CNN Digital Worldwide has promoted Steve George to director of CNN Digital for the Asia-Pacific region, based in Hong Kong. George begins his new role effective immediately.

    In this role, he is responsible for digital content, strategy and publishing and leads a team of digital producers, reporters and editors across APAC.

    Prior to this role, George was a senior news editor for CNN Digital. He spearheaded CNN’s digital coverage of major breaking news events in Asia-Pacific and was the founding editor of CNN’s Meanwhile in China newsletter, a three-times-a-week analysis of Chinese society, politics and foreign policy for a global readership.

    “Steve is an outstanding, trusted and thoughtful journalist and leader,” said CNN Digital Worldwide SVP and editor-in-chief Meredith Artley. “I am joined by the team in Hong Kong and CNN staff around the world in being thrilled that he is taking on this leadership role at this critical time.”

    Before joining CNN in 2016, George spent eight years in Beijing as a magazine editor, covering news and social affairs across the greater China region.  

  • FloBiz onboards Pulkit Saboo as director of marketing

    FloBiz onboards Pulkit Saboo as director of marketing

    Mumbai: FloBiz, a fintech startup and neobank for growing Indian SMBs, has brought Pulkit Saboo on board as director of marketing. 

    In his new role, Saboo will be responsible for creating and executing FloBiz’s brand and marketing strategy. He will spearhead partnerships and collaborations with a diverse stakeholder ecosystem while curating unique experiences for SMB partners. Saboo will also lead the creative and strategic thinking for brand and marketing functions, said the company in a statement.

    “Pulkit is an experienced marketing professional who has led high-performing teams and delivered some of the most memorable campaigns for major brands across categories,” said FloBiz founder and CEO Rahul Raj. “I am confident that under Pulkit’s leadership, we will scale newer heights as we enter into neobanking space and build deeper inroads into SMB space across cities and regions throughout the country.”

    Saboo previously served as the senior marketing manager at Ola for India and international markets, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail, and SABMiller. Armed with the experience of over a decade, he started his career as a software engineer at Infosys. In addition, Saboo is an alumnus of Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad (MICA).

    “The time could not have been more opportune than now for FloBiz to start this digital revolution for the SMB segment,” said Saboo on his new assignment. “With a deep understanding of SMBs’ expectations and pain points, we are poised to change the way of age-old business operation practices through a superior product offering. We are on a mission to deliver an unmatched experience to businesses making their digital transformation journeys.”