Author: Kashmeera Sambamurthy

EssenceMediacom’s Sonali Malaviya quits the WPP-owned media agency

As the managing director of Essence, Sonali Malaviya led Essence during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic and successfully transitioned to a fully remote work environment. She surpassed business growth expectations by 25 percent. She retained all existing clients and acquired new business.

Sonali Malaviya had stints across Roy Morgan Research, PHD, MindShare, Twitter, Colorbar etc.

Next-gen entrepreneurs are leading the charge for sustainability, says Sanjeev Bikhchandani

In an age where businesses operate at the intersection of technology, consumer consciousness, and sustainability, the role of leadership is evolving rapidly. According to Sanjeev Bikhchandani, Co-founder and Executive Vice Chairman of InfoEdge, the current crop of entrepreneurs is far more committed to sustainability than their predecessors.

From adland to CMO chair: CXOs at companies excel after successful stints in advertising

It is proof that a majority of the top-notch CXOs in India have had a stint in advertising or media agencies at the initial stages of their career. The experience that they had gained in their formative years of their professional journey stood them in good stead at a later juncture. (Clockwise: Bidisha Nagaraj, Tarun Jha, Kedar Lele, Ashwani Sinha, Mayur Hola, Arun C Kumar, Sai Narayan, Gaurav Mehta and Sujay Rachh)

Storyboard18 tracks the professional trajectory of some of the leading CXOs, who have honed their skills in advertising before making a successful switch to branding.

Bestseller India’s CEO Vineet Gautam to step down

In his past role, Vineet Gautam developed a strategic plan to achieve company's mission and vision. He promoted revenue, profitability and growth.

Vineet Gautam began his career at Domino’s Pizza and went on to work across Cafe Coffee Day, Wills Lifestyle, Idea Cellular, Benetton Group and Etisalat Telecom.

Finolex Industries elevates Saurabh Dhanorkar to Managing Director

Saurabh Dhanorkar, who joined the company in 1983, had earlier served as Managing Director between 2012 and 2017. Later on, he continued to be on the Board in a non-executive capacity for the past seven years.

Saurabh Dhanorkar, who joined the company in 1983, had earlier served as Managing Director between 2012 and 2017. Later on, he continued to be on the Board in a non-executive capacity for the past seven years.

MobiKwik appoints Jaskaran Singh Kapany as CMO

Jaskaran Singh Kapany was onboarded by Xiaomi India as CMO where he led marketing for the entire portfolio including Brand Strategy, Product Marketing, Performance Marketing, Acquisition, GTM, Social, Media, Research, Alliances etc.

Jaskaran Singh Kapany began his career as a senior account director at JWT and then joined ICICI Prudential Life Insurance as vice president – marketing and e-commerce. Then, he joined Paytm as head of marketing where he was responsible for making Paytm one of the most trusted household names in India.

Reliance Brands’ MD Darshan Mehta to step down

The report indicates that a successor has not yet been chosen for the position of MD who could succeed Mehta. A leadership team which comprises of senior executives will handle the operational responsibilities of the company.

It has been revealed that Mehta will transition to a mentorship role within the Reliance Group where he will groom next generation leaders and explore untapped business opportunities, further added the report. And, Mehta will continue serving as a non-executive director on the board of Reliance Brands.

Balaji Telefilms elevates Sanjay Dwivedi to Group CEO

As a part of the core management team of Balaji Telefilms, Sanjay Dwivedi has been instrumental in driving operations for steering the financial performance of the company.

Sanjay Dwivedi has had stints across TATA SSL Limited, GSK, Mirchi, and Nimbus Communications.

AKQA’s CMO Sam Kelly departs

At VML, Sam Kelly led as new business director, and his innings at AKQA began as business development manager.

Sam Kelly began his career as artist relations as Peoplesound.com and went on to work across Warner Music Group as technical manager. Then, he joined Interoute as head of content distribution, and then joined Outside Line as head of business development.