Keep up with all the key people movements in the brand marketing ecosystem in Storyboard18’s CXO Moves. Here’s a round-up of the executives who are in, out and in-between.
Sunder Balasubramanian
Previous: Head – International Marketing, Coupang
Present: Chief Marketing Officer, Myntra
Flipkart owned fashion e-tailer Myntra appointed Sunder Balasubramanian as the head – international marketing. He said, “Looking forward to diving into the world that integrates tech and fashion, beauty & lifestyle.” Balasubramanian has over two-deacde’s of experience and he has worked across Goldwire Communications, McCann Worldgroup, Colgate-Palmolive and Hotstar. In July this year, Achint Setia, who had served as the CXO and head of marketing and social commerce business at Myntra, joined ZALORA Group (Singapore) as chief revenue and marketing officer.
Tara Kapur
Previous: Lead, Series Marketing, Netflix
Present: India Marketing Head, Duolingo English Test, Duolingo
American educational technology company Duolingo has appointed Tara Kapur as the marketing head for Duolingo English test for its India operations. Kapur has an experience of more than a decade and has worked across Bloomberg TV India, Times Network, Supari Studios, Vitamin Stree and Vice Media.
Read More: Former Netflix India executive Tara Kapur joins Duolingo as India marketing head
Rahul Pahwa
Previous: Vice President, Grey Group India
Present: Senior VP and Business Head, Grey Group India
Advertising agency Grey Group India has promoted Rahul Pahwa as the senior vice president and business head. His responsibilities will include leading the team in the North and working closely with clients across various businesses. He will be reporting to Ketan Desai, the agency’s chief operating officer. Pahwa has an experience of 15 years and he has worked across Shobiz Experiential Communications, Drshti, M&C Saatchi of the London and UAE branch and Leo Burnett.
Karan Rao
Previous: National Director – Partnerships (Content, Tech, Gaming and Sports), Wavemaker India
Present: National Head, Growth & Partnerships at Wavemaker India
Media agency Wavemaker India promoted Karan Rao to the position of national head – growth and partnerships. Rao has put in 14 years in the industry. He has previously worked with GroupM ESP, Mindshare, Motivator, GroupM and Huawei Technologies India.
Mithila Saraf
Previous: Business Head, Famous Innovations
Present: Chief Executive Officer, Famous Innovations
Independent creative agency Famous Innovations has promoted Mithila Saraf as the chief executive officer. Saraf started her career with Times Group. A month ago, the agency appointed Mitali Srivastava Hough as the national planning head for its Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru offices. She also joins as a partner to the agency.
Read More: Famous Innovations elevates Mithila Saraf as CEO
Raghu Reddy
Previous: Chief Business Officer, Xiaomi India
Present: Not known
Raghu Reddy, who held the position of a chief business officer at Xiaomi India, has moved on. His departure comes at a time when the company is facing regulatory pressure and intense scrutiny from the Indian government. During his stint, Reddy handled offline and online sales. Apart from that, he also looked into various product categories. As per Moneycontrol, it was stated that Reddy would pursue different growth opportunities externally. Xiaomi India was quoted saying, “He has played an influential and significant role in Xiaomi becoming the #1 Smartphone and Smart TV brand in India.” Reddy has an experience of 17 years and he has worked across Wipro Technologies, Ernst and Young, Snapdeal and Jasper Infotech / Freecharge Payment Technologies.
Jai Dattani
Previous: Global Director, Editorial and Content Strategy – Publishing Innovation, Netflix
Present: Global Head – Social Media, Canva
Australian graphic designing platform Canva has appointed Jai Dattani as the global head of social media. Dattani will be based out of Los Angeles and his responsibilities will include building out channels and content strategies to engage audiences across the full raft of social and content platforms. Dattani has an experience of more than a decade and has worked across Freud Communications, Frank PR Australia and Pulse Communications.
Raman R.S Minhas and Megha Ahuja
Previous: Executive Creative Director, MullenLowe Lintas Group; and Group Director – Brand Communications, Gozoop Online
Present: Chief Creative Officer; Executive Vice President – Client Solutions, IdeateLabs
Digital-first marketing agency IdeateLabs has appointed Raman Minhas as the chief creative officer and Megha Ahuja as the executive vice president – client solutions. They will be based out of Mumbai and will report to Vrutika Dawda, who is the director at the agency. Minhas said, “I will be cohesively working with the creative team and encouraging them to bring novel ideas and innovation to the table for crafting creative communications.” Ahuja added, “My forte is introducing unique campaigns and maintaining lasting client relationships to help IdeateLabs strengthen client trust and enhance business prospects.”
Minhas has an experience of more than two decades and has worked across Euro RSCG (Havas) Interactive, iContract – Contract Advertising, OgilvyOne Worldwide, Sony Entertainment Television, TBWA\ Tequila\, Grey – G2 and DMP Group (Toolbar Digital + Republic Communication). Ahuja has an experience of more than a decade and has worked across Leo Burnett Group, Fox International Channels (FIC), Matrix360 Marketing, The Cheek, Inpress Hakuhodo Advertising and L&K Saatchi & Saatchi.
Gaurav Dudeja
Previous: Executive Vice President and National Head, Leo Burnett Orchard
Present: Chief Operating Officer, FCB Interface
FCB Interface, which is a part of FCB India has appointed Gaurav Dudeja as the chief operating officer. Dudeja’s responsibility will include leading the business operations to drive the next level of growth for the agency. He will be based out of the agency’s Mumbai office and will report to Joemon Thaliath, vice chairman and CEO of FCB Interface. Further, Dudeja’s goal will include using innovation to create a variety of frameworks, platforms and business procedures that support efficiency and effectiveness for FCB Interface’s clients. Dudeja has an experience of 21 years and he has worked across JWT, ESPN STAR Sports, Mudra Communications, Philips Electronics India, Fortis Healthcare and Leo Burnett.
Suvid Bajaj
Previous: Senior Vice President – Marketing, Spinny
Present: Head of Marketing, Arzooo
B2B retail tech platform Arzooo has appointed Suvid Bajaj as the head of marketing. Bajaj’s responsibilities will include managing the marketing initiatives and strategy for the platform in order to help create a unified brand, communications and outreach roadmap. Bajaj is armed with experience of more than two decades and he started his career with Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages, ITC Limited, The Henley Centre, PepsiCo, Reckitt, GSK Consumer Healthcare India and udaan.com.
Bhavita Shah and Arastu Thapar
Previous: Senior Manager – Influencer Marketing, Unacademy; and Head – Video Business (International Sport), Sportskeeda
Present: Head of Business and Group Head – Sales and Strategy, Boomlet Media
Influencer management and networking company Boomlet Media has appointed Bhavita Shah and Arastu Thapar as the head of business and group head – sales and strategy, respectively. In her new role, Shah will be responsible for managing the company’s operations and activities. She will report to Danish Malik, co-founder and chief executive officer and to Preety Singh, co-founder and managing director. Shah has an experience of seven years and has worked across Geojit Comtrade, KPMG India, Media.net, Network18 and Fork Media. Thapar will manage the sales vertical and the overall-front-ending of the business. This will be done while managing growth and equity strategy for the business by managing investor relations and the VC ecosystems awareness. Thapar is armed with experience of 14 years and he has worked across Asian Business Exhibitions & Conferences, Fever FM, Groffr.com, WhiteHat Jr and Sporjo.
Susan Jurevics
Previous: General Manager, Audible
Present: Chief Brand and International Officer, Audible
Amazon’s podcast company Audible has appointed Susan Jurevics as the chief brand and international officer. Jurevics’ responsibility will include overseeing the development and execution of Audible’s global brand strategy. This is followed by leading the international teams at Audible. Jurevics has over three-decades’ of experience and has worked across Viacom, Mattel, Sony and Shiseido. Further, James Finn will join the team of Jurevics as head of global brand and content marketing. Here, he will oversee the company’s global social, creative and US content marketing teams.
Vishant Pachisia
Previous: Digital Head, Nivea India
Present: Digital and Media Head, Nivea India
Skincare brand Nivea India has added one more role to the present designation of Vishant Pachisia. He is currently the digital and media head. Pachisia has an experience of 11 years and he has worked across Wishberry.in, Rediffusion Y&R, AdHog Interactives LLP, J. Walter Thompson Worldwide, FoxyMoron and Unilever.
Bhushan Walzade
Previous: BSM, Perfetti Van Melle
Present: Group Product Manager – Happydent & Alpenliebe Juzt Jelly, Perfetti Van Melle
Perfetti Van Melle has promoted Bhushan Walzade to the role of group product manager where he will look after the operations of the brand’s offerings Happydent and Alpenliebe Juzt Jelly. Walzade is armed with experience of 15 years and he has worked across GSK Consumer Healthcare, Colgate Palmolive and Paytm.
Siddhartha Singh
Previous: Director, Marketing and Sales, Independence Brewing Company
Present: Managing Partner and Chief Operating Officer, Infectious Advertising
Infectious Advertising has appointed Siddhartha Singh as the managing partner and chief operating officer. Singh has had a career spanning 26 years and he has worked across Leo Burnett, Ambience Publicis, Rediffusion. He has also worked with boutique agencies like Salt Brand Solutions, Famous Innovations and Hyphen. In August, the agency had appointed Anil Jayachandran as the chief strategy officer who had joined from Omnicom and headed communications planning.
Read More: Infectious Advertising gets Siddhartha Singh as managing partner and chief operating officer
Pooja Sharma
Present: Business Director of Brand Advocacy, iCubesWire
Digital marketing agency iCubesWires has elevated Pooja Sharma as the business director of brand advocacy. Sharma is armed with an experience of 15 years and has worked across India Today, Outlook, Standard Chartered Bank and Eleve Media.
Compiled by Kashmeera Sambamurthy