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Tag: leadership transition

  • Carson Dalton bids adieu to Coca-Cola, pops the cap on GSK role

    Carson Dalton bids adieu to Coca-Cola, pops the cap on GSK role

    MUMBAI: Carson Dalton is on the move again. After nearly five years of stirring up success at Coca-Cola, he’s now uncapping a fresh opportunity at GSK as executive vice president – communications & government affairs. From fizzy drinks to pharmaceuticals, Dalton’s career shift is as refreshing as an ice-cold cola on a scorching summer day. But what made him trade in the red can for the white lab coat? Let’s dive in.

    At the end of February, Dalton waved goodbye to The Coca-Cola Company, leaving behind an iconic American brand with a truly global footprint. “Coca-Cola is an iconic American company with a set of truly global brands, it is also a profoundly local business as all beverages are made in a country. This means the company has a significant socio-economic multiplier effect in the local communities where it is served,” he reflected.

    Dalton, who was at the heart of Coca-Cola’s communications across India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and the Maldives, had his hands full juggling multiple stakeholders. “The efforts of my multi-faceted and agile team involve enabling and protecting the interconnected value chain of our brands and bottling partners. We engage with bottling teams, collaborate with local and global functions, consumers, partners, customers, and various external stakeholders.”

    For Dalton, the magic of Coca-Cola wasn’t just in its fizzy formulas but in the bigger picture—how consumer goods mirror economic trajectories. “Since joining the company, I’ve been most excited to focus my efforts at the intersection of business, economics and governance as the growth of consumer goods mirrors the overall economic trajectory of a country,” he said.

    He leaves behind a legacy of strategic storytelling, navigating regulatory landscapes, and, of course, ensuring that every sip of Coke came with a side of strong brand positioning. But he’s not one to stay still for long. He’s already got his next big gig lined up.

    “I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as executive vice president – communications & government affairs at GSK!” he announced, barely letting the Coca-Cola bubbles settle.

    Corporate careers, he muses, are a game of ladders—each step bringing new challenges, new drinks (Thums Up, in his case), and a higher vantage point to survey the landscape. “Growth is the blood of a career. It is akin to a step ladder – you climb a step every few years, do a high five, have a celebratory drink (of Thums Up), elevate your network, look at the world around you from the newfound height and then look up the steps above yet to be climbed.”

    And climb he has. The move to GSK puts Dalton at the helm of communications and government affairs for a global pharmaceutical giant. It’s a shift from sugary indulgence to healthcare essentials, but if anyone can navigate the high-pressure world of corporate storytelling, it’s him.

  • Akshay Gurnani steps down as Schbang CEO, gears up for next big leap

    Akshay Gurnani steps down as Schbang CEO, gears up for next big leap

    MUMBAI: For most, Mondays mean emails, meetings, and caffeine-fuelled survival. But for Akshay Gurnani, this Monday was different-it marked the end of a decade-long journey as co-founder & CEO of Schbang and the beginning of a brand-new adventure.

    “Ten years. A whole decade. A long time, yet in the larger picture of life, just a small fraction,” reflects Gurnani. “And yet, these 10 years have been nothing short of transformative.”

    Gurnani co-founded Schbang at just 25 years old, fuelled by the ambition to build something from the ground up. Along with his fellow co-founders, he set out to redefine the marketing landscape and provide cutting-edge solutions to clients. Under his leadership, Schbang scaled to a 1,100+ member team across Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, London, and Amsterdam, servicing over 200 brands globally. His relentless commitment propelled the agency to become one of the most sought-after creative powerhouses in the industry.

    From the boardroom to the brainstorming room, Gurnani’s leadership has been marked by resilience, innovation, and the sheer audacity to push creative boundaries. Schbang executed award-winning campaigns for Pidilite, Perfetti, Godrej Consumer Products, Tata Consumer, L’Oréal Group, Finolex Pipes, Ashok Leyland, Crompton, Castrol, Baskin Robbins, Philips, and more. Beyond building a successful agency, he fostered a community—mentors, teammates, industry peers, and clients who became friends.

    “More than anything, Schbang has been about the people, the culture. The teammates who turned into family. The mentors I looked up to. The clients who became partners (many now good friends) and believed in us. Each one of you has left a mark, and for that, I am eternally grateful.”

    While one chapter closes, another unfolds. Gurnani isn’t slowing down—he’s simply switching lanes. His next phase will focus on business transformation, mentoring startups, investing in game-changing ideas, and empowering young students. He aims to help brands and agencies on a hyper-growth trajectory in India and the UAE, leveraging his expertise in digital marketing, AI, media, and technology.

    “As business landscapes evolve and consumer behaviours shift, client needs are changing rapidly. My focus is on eliminating redundancies and prioritising services that deliver business value,” he shares. “Digital transformation isn’t just about technology—it requires a deep understanding of a client’s business and a partnership-driven approach to drive meaningful change.”

    Having worked with Fortune 500 brands, Gurnani has developed a keen eye for identifying inflection points where inefficiencies arise. His goal is to go beyond vanity metrics, dive deeper into digital transformation, and help brands achieve sharper outcomes powered by the right human resources, media, and technology.

    During his time at Schbang, Gurnani was also recognised with numerous 30 Under 30 awards and named among India’s Top 50 Content Marketing Professionals.

    “It’s not a goodbye, it’s just a shift in gears because if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the last 10 years, it’s that new ideas, new journeys, and new beginnings are always around the corner.”

    Schbang may have started as a bold idea, but its legacy continues. And so does Gurnani’s next great adventure.

  • Virtusa hands the reins to Nitesh Banga as president & CEO

    Virtusa hands the reins to Nitesh Banga as president & CEO

    MUMBAI: Change is in the air at Virtusa Corporation, as the company announces a leadership transition designed to propel it into the future of digital engineering and AI-driven business solutions. Nitesh Banga has been appointed as president & CEO, effective 3 February 2025, succeeding Santosh Thomas, who steps down to explore new opportunities. To ensure a smooth handover, Thomas will remain a strategic advisor during the transition.

    Reflecting on his tenure, Thomas expressed pride in Virtusa’s transformation over the past four years. “I am immensely proud of the substantial growth we have accomplished together. It has been exciting to witness firsthand the positive impact on our people, clients, and their customers,” he said. Thomas positioned Virtusa as a global digital leader, spearheading strategic acquisitions, operational excellence, and technology expansion, while achieving record-high client and employee net-promoter scores.

    Banga, the new face at Virtusa’s helm, joins from GlobalLogic, where he served as president & CEO. His leadership at GlobalLogic saw transformational growth, including the successful integration of the company with Hitachi. With nearly three decades in the technology services sector, including over 20 years at Infosys, Banga brings a wealth of experience in strategy, business development, service delivery, and mergers & acquisitions.

    Banga sees Virtusa uniquely positioned to drive digital and AI-powered transformation for enterprises. “I am deeply honored to step into this role at such a pivotal moment of change in the industry,” he stated. “The future belongs to businesses that hyper-focus on customer needs, leveraging digital and AI technologies with a solid data strategy. Virtusa’s engineering DNA and domain expertise offer the perfect foundation to help brands transform and differentiate their businesses.”

    Board of directors chair, Rajeev Mehta extended his appreciation to Thomas for his leadership since joining Virtusa in 2021. “Santosh expanded our global presence, grew our service offerings, and positioned Virtusa as a leader in Digital Engineering and AI. We thank him for his dedication and wish him continued success.” Looking forward, Mehta is confident that Banga’s deep expertise and passion for client success will drive Virtusa’s next wave of innovation. “With an AI-powered world ahead, I look forward to working with Nitesh to optimise our business and deliver transformative results for our clients,” he added.

    Virtusa’s leadership transition signals a bold step forward, reinforcing its commitment to technology-led business transformation and AI-driven solutions. With Banga at the helm, the company is ready to tackle the next frontier of digital innovation.

     

  • Leadership Change at Diageo India

    Leadership Change at Diageo India

    MUMBAI: Diageo India, the nation’s leading beverage alcohol company, has announced a leadership transition. Praveen Someshwar, former MD and CEO of HT Media, will take over as CEO-Designate on 1 March  2025, succeeding Hina Nagarajan, who moves to a global executive role at Diageo globally.

    Hina, who led Diageo India through a period of remarkable growth, credited with doubling its market capitalisation to over Rs 1 trillion, will step down on 1 April 2025. Under her tenure, Diageo India expanded its portfolio and bolstered its market share across categories.

    Diageo chief executive Debra Crew said: “Under Hina’s leadership, Diageo India has combined strong top-line growth and margin expansion with impactful strategic initiatives, reshaping and premiumising our portfolio and positioning Diageo India as an innovative leader in the AlcoBev industry. As she moves on to a new role within Diageo, she leaves a significant track record of success and a highly engaged, talented and diverse team. Praveen joins us with an outstanding track record of leading consumer businesses, with a passion for both strategy and executional excellence that will serve us well as we plan for the next phase of Diageo India’s exciting growth story.”.

    Praveen, bringing decades of leadership experience from HT Media and PepsiCo, expressed enthusiasm for steering Diageo India into its next growth phase. 

    USL chairman Mahendra Kumar Sharma lauded Hina’s legacy while welcoming Praveen’s strategic acumen.

  • Banking to pharma: A marketing maverick takes helm at Sun Pharma

    Banking to pharma: A marketing maverick takes helm at Sun Pharma

    MUMBAI: After an 18-year whirlwind of success in banking marketing, Pulak Sarmah has made a bold leap into the pharmaceutical arena, becoming the head of corporate marketing & brand at Sun Pharma.

    Known for his strategic brilliance and brand-building acumen, Sarmah’s transition signals a pivotal moment in the marketing industry, blending two diverse worlds under the leadership of a proven marketing veteran. With Sun Pharma’s global ambitions in focus, his appointment is set to redefine the company’s brand narrative and solidify its position on the world stage.

    Sarmah began his professional journey in 2006 at Ogilvy & Mather in client servicing, setting the foundation for an illustrious career. Over the next 18 years, he rose through pivotal roles within the Kotak Group, showcasing his expertise in branding and communication. Briefly stepping away to fulfil a long-standing entrepreneurial dream, he ran a food joint named “Not Just Momos!” for a year. Returning to the corporate world, Sarmah served as Vice President of Brand and Corporate Communication at Kotak Mahindra Bank, where he was instrumental in defining the bank’s identity and spearheaded successful campaigns such as #IndiaInvited.

    His most recent position was executive vice president – brand, corporate communication, and consumer insights at Zurich Kotak General Insurance, where he spearheaded impactful marketing strategies, consumer insight initiatives, and brand-building efforts that set benchmarks in the industry.

    Sarmah expressed his enthusiasm for the new opportunity via a LinkedIn post, “Today, I embark on a new professional journey as head of corporate marketing & brand at Sun Pharma. Having spent the last 18 years building various brands within the Kotak Group, I am looking forward to this exciting opportunity at Sun Pharma. Thank you, everyone, for your love and best wishes.”

    At Sun Pharma, Sarmah will oversee corporate marketing and branding initiatives, leveraging his extensive experience to elevate the company’s global standing. His track record of delivering innovative campaigns and creating impactful brand narratives aligns seamlessly with Sun Pharma’s vision for the future.

  • Facebook parent Meta posts its first-ever revenue decline in Q2

    Facebook parent Meta posts its first-ever revenue decline in Q2

    Mumbai: Facebook parent company, Meta, on Thursday announced a decline in the company’s revenues in its second quarter earnings 2022 for the first time since it went public in 2012. The tech major reported a drop in revenues from $29.08 billion to $28.82 billion, down one per cent over last year.

    Meta also announced that its chief finance officer (CFO) David Wehner would now take over the role of chief strategy officer (CSO) and oversee the company’s strategy and corporate development.

    The company announced that Susan Li, currently vice president of finance, will replace him as CFO. The transitions will be effective from 1 November.  

    The social media network’s net income saw a decline of 36 per cent in April-June, falling from $10.39 billion ($3.61 per share) to $6.69 billion ($2.46 per share) year-on-year (YoY).

    “We seem to have entered an economic downturn that will have a broad impact on the digital advertising business,” said Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg in an earnings call on Wednesday. “It’s always hard to predict how deep or how long these cycles will be, but I’d say that the situation seems worse than it did a quarter ago.”

    The social media giant also issued a bleak third-quarter forecast. “This outlook reflects a continuation of the weak advertising demand environment we experienced throughout the second quarter, which we believe is being driven by broader macroeconomic uncertainty,” chief finance officer David Wehner said in a statement.

    “We have reduced our hiring and overall expense growth plans this year to account for the more challenging operating environment while continuing to direct resources toward our company priorities,” he added.

    The company expects its 2022 total expenses to be in the range of $85-88 billion, lowered from its prior outlook of $87-92 billion, Wehner further stated.

    Meta’s worrying results follow a pattern reflected in the results of other major tech companies and its rivals, Snap and Twitter – both of whom reported disappointing second-quarter numbers last week, during an unprecedented stressful period across the industry. The results also follow a broader decline in the digital advertising market.

    Advertising revenue growth slowed throughout the second quarter as advertiser demand softened, Wehner stated. “The deceleration has been broad-based across verticals, and we believe businesses are lowering their advertising spend in response to the increased economic uncertainty.”

    Earlier on Wednesday, another tech major and Google parent company- Alphabet posted a 13 per cent growth in consolidated revenue at $69.7 billion for the second quarter – its slowest quarterly growth in two years.

    Meta also faces its own unique challenges of competing with TikTok, while focusing on its next phase of building the immersive metaverse.

    In this environment, we’re focused on making the long-term investments that will position us to be stronger coming out of this downturn — including our work on our discovery engine and Reels, our new ads infrastructure, and the metaverse, stated Zuckerberg. The company is also focused on being rigorous about measuring returns and sizing these investments correctly, he added.