Talent Tracker of the Week: Top leadership moves across media, marketing and tech

New Delhi: India’s marketing, media, technology and consumer companies witnessed a flurry of leadership changes this week, with several organisations strengthening their C-suites, appointing new business heads and promoting senior executives. From CMO and CFO appointments to CEO transitions and high-profile exits, here’s a roundup of the biggest talent movements across the industry over the past week. Integral Ad Science appoints Lidiane Jones as Chief Executive Officer Lidiane Jones Integral Ad Science (IAS) has appointed Lidiane Jones as Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect. She succeeds Lisa Utzschneider, who led the company for more than seven years and will remain as Special Advisor to the Board through the end of 2026 to support the leadership transition. Jones brings more than two decades of experience in product and technology leadership, having previously served as CEO of Bumble and Slack. She also held senior leadership roles at Salesforce, Sonos, and Microsoft. IAS said her appointment will support the company’s next phase of AI-driven innovation and growth. Mitgo appoints Samrat Dutta as APAC Managing Director Samrat Dutta Mitgo has appointed Samrat Dutta as Managing Director for the Asia-Pacific region, succeeding Neha Kulwal, who has stepped down to focus on her entrepreneurial ventures. Based in Gurugram, Dutta previously served as Mitgo’s CFO and earlier held leadership roles, including Director of Sales/Country Head at Tyroo. He will lead the company’s expansion across India and other APAC markets, including Indonesia. Mitgo said Dutta and Kulwal played key roles in growing its regional presence. The company’s APAC operations span India, Indonesia, and Singapore through businesses including Admitad, Trendweave, and Takefluence. Raymond appoints former BEL CMD Bhanu Prakash Srivastava as CEO – Defence Bhanu Prakash Srivastava Raymond has appointed former Bharat Electronics Chairman and Managing Director Bhanu Prakash Srivastava as Chief Executive Officer – Defence. With nearly four decades of experience at BEL, he will lead Raymond’s defence business, overseeing its strategic vision, operational roadmap and growth agenda. During his tenure at BEL, Srivastava led large-scale defence programmes, expanded research and development, launched more than 100 products, and significantly grew the company’s order book and market capitalisation. He will focus on strengthening Raymond’s capabilities in defence electronics, systems integration, aerospace, and advanced engineering. Havas creates Chief Strategy Officer role, appoints Raphael de Andreis Raphael de Andreis Havas has created the new role of Chief Strategy Officer and appointed Raphaël de Andréis to lead its global strategy while continuing as CEO, Western Europe. Reporting to Chairman and CEO Yannick Bolloré, he will drive strategic alignment across the group’s Creative, Media, Health and Content at Scale networks, strengthen its brand portfolio and accelerate AI-led transformation. A member of Havas’ Executive Committee, de Andréis previously led Havas Media Network France and Havas Village France after earlier leadership roles at TBWA, BETC, and Canal+. Pocket FM appoints Abhilash Padival as Chief Financial Officer Abhilash Padival Pocket FM has appointed Abhilash Padival as Chief Financial Officer to strengthen its leadership team as it expands globally. He will lead the company’s global finance organisation, overseeing financial strategy, capital allocation, business planning, investor relations, compliance and corporate governance. Padival joins from Bank of America, where he spent more than seven years, most recently leading its Consumer Internet Investment Banking practice. He brings nearly two decades of experience across finance, corporate strategy and mergers and acquisitions, having previously held leadership roles at Quess Corp, Altisource, Avendus Capital and Cyient. Chat360 appoints Milind Pathak as Chief Operating Officer Milind Pathak Chat360 has appointed Milind Pathak as Chief Operating Officer to lead operations, go-to-market strategy and global expansion as it scales its Agentic AI platform. Pathak brings more than 25 years of experience across messaging, CPaaS, and digital businesses. He joins from Proximus Global, where he was Chief Marketing Officer, and previously held senior leadership roles at Route Mobile, Paytm, Httpool, Madhouse (WPP), One97 Communications, Comviva, Buongiorno Hong Kong, Mitsui & Co., and TIL. He is also the founder of AI consulting venture Candescent Intelligence. Qure.ai appoints Malika Shrivastava as Chief Marketing Officer Malika Shrivastava Qure.ai has appointed Malika Shrivastava as its first Chief Marketing Officer and promoted Amy Casey to Executive Vice President of Sales for North America as it expands its US business. Shrivastava will lead the company’s global marketing across brand, communications, product marketing, and market development. She joins from Glance (InMobi Group) and has previously held leadership roles at Google and Procter & Gamble. Casey, who joined Qure.ai a year ago, will lead commercial strategy and customer engagement across North America. Before Qure.ai, she spent 16 years at Microsoft and Nuance, focusing on enterprise healthcare sales and strategic accounts. WHOOP appoints former Nike CMO Dirk Jan van Hameren as CMO Dirk Jan van Hameren WHOOP has appointed former Nike Chief Marketing Officer Dirk Jan van Hameren as its Chief Marketing Officer. He joins the wearable health and fitness company after a 32-year career at Nike, where he held several senior leadership roles, including Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. He also led Nike’s Olympics, Sportswear, Digital Commerce Experience, NIKEiD, Global Brand Management, and Event Marketing businesses. Before joining WHOOP, van Hameren served as an Operating Advisor at Arctos Partners and held advisory and entrepreneurial roles at Slingshot Sports, Superconnector Studios, and Mailroom Marathon 7. IKEA India appoints Jessamine Avila as Chief Marketing Officer Jessamine Avila IKEA India has appointed Jessamine Avila as Chief Marketing Officer to strengthen its leadership team as it expands its omnichannel presence in the country. In her new role, she will lead the company’s marketing strategy, brand relevance, and customer engagement across physical and digital channels. Avila brings over two decades of marketing and brand-building experience, including 12 years with IKEA in global and market leadership roles. Her career includes assignments in Australia and with IKEA’s global marketing team in Malmö, Sweden, before taking charge of the India marketing function. VIRGIO appoints Hansa Nigam as Chief Marketing Officer Hansa Nigam VIRGIO has appointed Hansa Nigam as Chief Marketing Officer, expanding her role to lead the brand’s marketing and growth strategy. Having been with the company since 2023, she has played a key role in shaping its brand identity and consumer engagement. In her new role, Nigam will focus on strengthening VIRGIO’s market presence, driving customer growth and deepening its positioning across fashion, technology and sustainability. Before joining VIRGIO, she held marketing and brand strategy roles at OnePlus, Glance and The Glitch, with experience spanning digital marketing, consumer growth and strategic planning. Story TV appoints Yash Raj Films’ Manan Mehta as SVP, Content & Strategy Manan Mehta Story TV has appointed former Yash Raj Films executive Manan Mehta as Senior Vice President – Content & Strategy to strengthen its premium content slate and expand its original IP portfolio. Mehta brings over 20 years of experience across business strategy, marketing and content, including an 11-year stint at Yash Raj Films and earlier roles at Leo Burnett, Taproot and Razorfish. At Story TV, he will lead premium vertical storytelling, develop original franchises, build partnerships with filmmakers and studios, and support the platform’s vision of accelerating OTT 2.0 and vertical-first entertainment. GlassView appoints Tuhina Bhattacharjee as Chief Client Officer Tuhina Bhattacharjee GlassView has promoted Tuhina Bhattacharjee to Chief Client Officer after more than nine years with the ad-tech company. Based in Singapore, she has held several leadership roles across account management, regional business and international operations, most recently serving as Vice President, International. Earlier, she was Executive Director, Director and Head of JAPAC, Associate Account Director, Senior Account Manager, and Account Manager, helping expand GlassView’s presence across the Asia-Pacific region. Before joining GlassView in 2017, Bhattacharjee worked as a Display Analyst at Yahoo and began her career at Hewlett-Packard. Mili Kapoor moves from Apple to OpenAI as Consumer Marketing Lead Mili Kapoor OpenAI has appointed former Apple executive Mili Kapoor as Consumer Marketing Lead, strengthening its leadership team in India. Kapoor joins after more than a year and a half at Apple, where she served as Product Marketing Lead for iPad in India. She brings nearly two decades of experience in consumer marketing, brand strategy, and product marketing. Before Apple, she was Consumer Marketing Leader at Philips and has also held roles at Nestlé Professional, Meta, Nestlé Purina PetCare, Pernod Ricard, Technopak Advisors, VF Corporation and National Geographic India. Kotak Mahindra Bank appoints Jyoti Samajpati as EVP- Head of Marketing & Propositions (Consumer Bank) Jyoti Samajpati Kotak Mahindra Bank has appointed Jyoti Samajpati as Executive Vice President – Head of Marketing & Propositions (Consumer Bank). She joined the bank in October 2024 as Head of Propositions and will now lead consumer marketing, customer propositions, strategic partnerships, go-to-market strategy, customer experience design and lifecycle management. Before joining Kotak, Samajpati spent more than 17 years at Unilever, where she held global and regional leadership roles across brands including Close Up, Dove, Lakme, Sunsilk, Taj Mahal and Lipton. Earlier, she worked at Marico and Lowe Lintas. Moglix appoints Priya Kumari as Senior Vice President Priya Kumari Moglix has appointed Priya Kumari as Senior Vice President to lead infrastructure markets and strategic partnerships. Based in Mumbai, she joins the leadership team with 25 years of experience across industrial, infrastructure and enterprise markets in India and Southeast Asia. Most recently, she served as Managing Director and Board Member for Southeast Asia at Smiths Detection. She previously held leadership roles at AkzoNobel, Eaton Technologies, and Otis India, and began her career at Tata Motors. Kumari will focus on strengthening Moglix’s infrastructure business and strategic partnerships. Rediffusion appoints Amitava Sinha as Managing Partner, East Amitava Sinha Rediffusion Brand Solutions has appointed Amitava Sinha as Managing Partner to lead its East operations as it strengthens its presence in the region. Sinha returns to the agency after an earlier 12-year stint from 2003 to 2015, during which he served in several leadership roles, including Chief Operating Officer. With nearly four decades of experience across advertising, branding, corporate communications, and public relations, he has also worked at Reckitt, JWT, McCann Erickson, and Bates. After leaving Rediffusion, he worked as an independent consultant. Sreeparna Sengupta will continue to head Rediffusion Kolkata and work with Sinha. Kinnect appoints Neetika Aggarwal as Managing Partner Neetika Aggarwal FCB Kinnect has appointed Neetika Aggarwal as Managing Partner to strengthen its leadership across North and West India. She joins the agency with more than two decades of experience in integrated marketing, brand strategy and client leadership. Most recently, she was Managing Partner at Leo Burnett India, leading brands including Spotify, Visa India, and HDFC Bank. Earlier, she held senior roles at VMLY&R, Red Fuse Communications and JWT, working on brands such as HUL, Colgate-Palmolive, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Airtel, Microsoft and Nokia. She will work with teams across Mumbai and Delhi. GoKwik appoints Aseem Goyal as Vice President – Business for Kwik Ship Aseem Goyal GoKwik has appointed Aseem Goyal as Vice President – Business for its AI-powered shipping solution, Kwik Ship. In the role, he will lead growth, merchant acquisition and operational scaling of the platform, which helps D2C brands improve delivery efficiency and reduce return-to-origin rates using AI. Goyal joins from Shiprocket, where he led enterprise sales and later headed the South and West regions. He brings over a decade of experience in scaling high-growth startups and driving business growth across the logistics and technology sectors. Leo India appoints Alin Choubey as Vice President Digital Alin Choubey Leo India has appointed Alin Choubey as Vice President, Digital, to lead the agency’s digital business across key client accounts. He will oversee digital mandates for PepsiCo India Foods & Beverages, HCL Group, Schneider Electric, and California Almonds. Before joining Leo India, Choubey spent two years as an independent marketing consultant, working with brands including BMW Motorrad, Cinepolis, Myntra Fwd, MyProtein, MTR International and realme. Earlier, he served as Business Head for North and South India at FoxyMoron and held leadership roles at Chimp&z Inc., Herald Digital, Vermillion Communications, Modern Cloud, and Reliance Communications. Kapture CX onboards Sanjay Prasad as VP – Sales Sanjay Prasad Kapture CX has appointed Sanjay Prasad as Vice President – Sales to lead its enterprise sales strategy and expand adoption of its AgentOS platform across large BFSI and retail customers. Based in Mumbai, Prasad brings more than two decades of experience in enterprise technology sales, business development and strategic alliances. Before joining Kapture CX, he held leadership roles at IBM, HP, Oracle, Red Hat, LeadSquared, and MoEngage, leading growth strategy across India and the Middle East. He has extensive experience helping large enterprises drive digital transformation in regulated industries. Pravis appoints Amit Duggal as Founding Chief Growth Officer Amit Duggal Pravis has appointed Amit Duggal as its Founding Chief Growth Officer to strengthen its leadership team as it expands its AI-led marketing capabilities. Duggal brings over 23 years of experience across media leadership, entrepreneurship and digital transformation. He has previously held senior roles at Essence, Omnicom Media Group, Madison, and Mindshare, working with brands including Google India, PepsiCo, HP, Airtel, and Cisco. He has also founded technology-led ventures Adorithm and MonkeyMinds, with members of the latter’s team joining Pravis as part of the transition. Havas Media Network India appoints Sparsh Ganguli as Head of Trading Sparsh Ganguli Havas Media Network India has appointed Sparsh Ganguli as Head of Trading to lead its trading function across the country. Based in Mumbai, he will focus on strengthening strategic media partnerships, enhancing trading capabilities, and driving commercial excellence. Ganguli brings over three decades of experience across media, advertising, and entertainment. He joins from Astus Group, where he served as Country Head – India, and previously spent over 12 years as Business Head at Matrix Publicities and Media India (WPP Group). He has also held leadership roles at GroupM ESP, Sahara One Media & Entertainment, Sony Entertainment Television, and Star TV. Amazon appoints Ben Rolleston as Head of Prime APAC Ben Rolleston Amazon has appointed Ben Rolleston as Head of Prime APAC, expanding his responsibilities to lead the growth of its Prime business across the Asia-Pacific region. He will oversee Prime’s business across APAC, focusing on expanding subscriptions, enhancing customer engagement and driving product innovation. Rolleston announced the move on LinkedIn. He most recently served as Head of APAC Enterprise Business Development and previously held roles including Country Manager and Managing Director of Audible Australia and Head of Sales and Business Development for Alexa ANZ. He brings over two decades of experience across digital media, streaming, content distribution and technology. JioStar appoints Prashant Khanna as Head of Sports: Rights, Innovation & Cricinfo Business Prashant Khanna JioStar has appointed Prashant Khanna as Head of Sports: Rights, Innovation & Cricinfo Business. In the new role, he will oversee the company’s domestic and international sports rights portfolio, strategic partnerships, syndication, innovation, and the Cricinfo business. Khanna, who announced the move on LinkedIn, has spent nearly nine years with Star, Disney Star and JioStar. Previously, he headed Sports & Live Experiences Production Technology & Services, managing productions including the ICC World Cups, IPL and Pro Kabaddi League. He also serves with the ICC and BCCI and has held leadership roles at Disney, NDTV, Turner Broadcasting, and News Corporation. Da Milano Italia appoints Nehha Chandra as Head of Marketing Nehha Chandra Da Milano Italia has appointed Nehha Chandra as Head of Marketing to strengthen its position in the premium and luxury accessories market. With more than 21 years of experience, she will lead the brand’s marketing strategy, positioning, and consumer engagement initiatives. Chandra joins from Sarita Handa Exports and has previously held senior marketing roles at Reliance Retail, Ritu Kumar, Volvo Cars India, and TAG Heuer at LVMH Watches & Jewelry. Her career also includes leadership positions at Seventy Event Media Group, Hazoorilal Legacy and India Today Group across luxury, automotive, fashion, retail and lifestyle sectors. Abbott appoints Shefali Singh as Head of Marketing Shefali Singh Abbott has promoted Shefali Singh as Head of Marketing after more than four years with the company. Most recently, she served as Marketing Manager, having earlier held the role of Group Product Manager. In her new position, Singh will lead Abbott’s marketing function. Before joining Abbott, she spent over four years at Alembic Pharmaceuticals, where she held multiple product management roles in the Cardio-Diabeto division. Earlier, she worked at Mankind Pharma as a Product Executive and served as an Assistant Professor at Vishveshwarya Group of Institutions. VaynerMedia India appoints P Sai Bhardwaj GCD, strengthens leadership with two more hires VaynerMedia India has strengthened its leadership team with three senior appointments to accelerate growth and expand its social-first marketing capabilities. The agency has named P Sai Bhardwaj as Group Creative Director, Suruchi Makhija as Senior Director, Strategy, and Aveek Gupta as Senior Director, Media. Bhardwaj brings 19 years of experience across Prime Video, RPSG Media Group and major brands. Makhija joins with over two decades of experience at GroupM, Publicis, and Cheil Worldwide, while Gupta has more than 20 years of experience across DDB Mudra, GroupM, Carat, and Havas Media. JioStar appoints Riddhi Chakraborty as Associate Director – Marketing Riddhi Chakraborty JioStar has promoted Riddhi Chakraborty to Associate Director – Marketing. She has been with the company for nearly a year after joining as Marketing Manager following the integration of Disney Star and Viacom18’s media businesses. Before JioStar, she spent nearly four years at Disney Star as Assistant Brand Manager – Marketing. Earlier, she worked for over six years at ABP Group as Senior Brand Executive, overseeing brands including Anandabazar Patrika and the group’s Bengali magazine portfolio. Her previous experience also includes Hitachi Home & Life Solutions India, the Confederation of Indian Industry and a summer internship at Hindustan Unilever. Asian Paints appoints Sudhir Sitapati as independent director Sudhir Sitapati Asian Paints has appointed Godrej Consumer Products Managing Director & CEO Sudhir Sitapati as an independent director following shareholder approval at its 80th Annual General Meeting. Shareholders also approved the reappointment of Milind Sarwate as an independent director for a second five-year term, the company said in a regulatory filing. Sitapati, who joined the board as an additional and independent director in May, will serve until May 2031. He previously spent over two decades at Hindustan Unilever. Sarwate brings more than 40 years of experience and has held leadership roles at Godrej Consumer Products and Marico. Dream Sports CTO Amit Sharma exits after a decade Amit Sharma has stepped down as Chief Technology Officer of Dream Sports after nearly 10 years with the company. He joined Dream Sports in 2016 after engineering stints at Netflix and Yahoo in the US. Last year, following a company restructuring, Sharma became Founder and CEO of Dream Sports AI, the company’s AI-focused vertical. His exit comes as Dream Sports streamlines operations, having wound down Dream Play and Dream Money to focus on its core fantasy gaming business. Sharma has since listed himself as Co-Founder of a stealth AI startup on LinkedIn. Mehak Jaini exits Godrej Consumer Products after two years Mehak Jaini Mehak Jaini has stepped down from Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL) after more than two years with the company. Most recently, she served as Global Brand Equity Lead – Personal Care & Global Effectiveness, having earlier led Global Brand Equity for Hair & Air. The move marks the end of her first client-side stint after nearly 16 years in the agency business. Before joining GCPL, Jaini was National Strategy Head at 22feet Tribal Worldwide and Vice President – Strategy at DDB Mudra Group, where she worked on brands including McDonald’s, Disney+ Hotstar, Lipton, Godrej, LIC, ITC Vivel, and Future Group.