Author: Kashmeera Sambamurthy

Poonawalla Fincorp appoints Salil Hajarnis as Chief Technology Officer

With over two decades of experience in technology leadership, Salil Hajarnis has consistently delivered impactful results in roles spanning enterprise architecture, software engineering, and AI integration, highlighted the company in a statement. At Fiserv, as head of technology for India, he led major initiatives including AI and API-enabled solutions, real-time integrations, and platform modernization across key markets in India, ASEAN, and Australia.

As CTO, Salil Hajarnis will shape the company’s technology roadmap, enhance operational efficiency, and deliver superior customer experiences.

JetSynthesys’ Anuj Tandon joins BITKRAFT Ventures as Partner

Anuj Tandon started his career with Infosys as software engineer, and then joined Tech Mahindra as a business analyst. Then, he joined Rolocule Games as co-founder - director, and from there joined Nazara Games as head of mobile game - publishing and marketing.

Anuj Tandon previously led JetSynthesys as chief executive officer – gaming.

Honasa Consumer elevates Meetu Mulchandani to Head of Brand Factory

Meetu Mulchandani brings nearly two decades of experience in the beauty and personal care industry. She has been with Honasa for nearly four years now and has been at the helm of building young brands. Her career spans roles at Nyumi, The Mom’s Co., Healthkart, Alteus Biogenics, and Mankind Pharma.

In her expanded role, Meetu Mulchandani will lead the end-to-end journey of crafting new brands within Honasa’s House of Brands portfolio. This will encompass ideation, in-depth market research, consumer insights, concept testing, and shaping business and marketing strategy, with a strong emphasis on innovation, and market dominance through strategic growth initiatives.

VLCC’s Puneet Gulati joins Sleepwell as CMO

Puneet Gulati began his career as sales manager at Colgate-Palmolive, and then joined Marketics as analytics consultant, and then joined GSK Consumer Healthcare India as marketing manager where he was elevated to the position of global marketing manager.

Puneet Gulati was the chief marketing officer at VLCC.

YouTube short on confidence? | Omnicom and IPG in advanced merger talks | AMUL’s MD Jayen Mehta gets a tenure extension for 5 years

In response to growing user frustration and in a bid to bolster revenue from non-Premium users, YouTube has reportedly intensifying its efforts to combat third-party ad blockers by integrating advertisements directly into video streams.

Storyboard18 brings you top five news updates from the world of advertising, marketing and business of brands.

Cultural Connections: How Mother Dairy and Royal Enfield impressed at Spotify Hits 2024

Among the winners, Royal Enfield and Mother Dairy stood out in the ‘IRL’ and ‘Seized the Moment’ categories respectively, showcasing how storytelling and cultural alignment can amplify brand impact. (Image Source: YouTube and Unsplash)

The campaigns were evaluated by a panel of experts from Spotify India, based on three criteria: creative execution, strategic media deployment, and measurable business impact.

PUMA partners with adam&eveDDB to bring new global brand strategy to life

This year, PUMA partnered with creative company adam&eveDDB. adam&eveDDB’s strategy will elevate the brand by bringing PUMA’s credentials to the fore, further added the company. (Image Source: 1000 Logos)

adam&eveDDB’s first global brand campaign for PUMA will launch in spring 2025. The PUMA account will be led by teams from adam&eveDDB’s London and Berlin offices.

DEPT appoints David Neal as Global CFO

In his new role, David Neal will be based in London. He will leverage his extensive background to redefine the finance department as a strategic ally within DEPT, enhancing collaboration with other business units—especially Operations, and People & Culture. Neal will harness the potential of AI to transform financial processes, fostering a culture of relentless curiosity and innovation, stated the company in a statement.

In this role, David Neal will bring together the global finance and operations team, driving innovation and streamlining processes by positioning finance as a strategic partner to the business.

Amazon India’s Consumer Electronics Director Ranjit Babu quits

Babu started his career as a systems analyst at Pan Arab Reserach Center and then joined Nokia as sales manager where he was elevated as national key account manager. Then, he was appointed as vice president - operations at Karadi Tales Company, and then he joined Amazon, and from there, was appointed as category leader at Cloudtail India Private Limited.

This move comes amidst senior-level exits and organisational restructuring which is taking place at Amazon’s India operations.

‘Don’t want to go down the Byju’s path, want to stay afloat,’ Aakash tells NCLAT amid shareholding dispute

The company emphasised that the proposed change was necessary to raise capital without taking on more debt. Aakash's counsel stressed that this move was essential for the company's financial health, particularly as it had over 10,000 employees and 3 lakh students. (Image Source: Edufever.in)

The statement came as part of Aakash’s plea challenging the NCLT order, which had halted the company’s attempt to amend the AoA.