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’ve moved jobs, got bigger roles, switched industries and more.
RS Sodhi
Previous: Managing director, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF)
Present: Reliance Retail Ventures
RS Sodhi, the former MD of the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which retails the Amul brand, has been appointed by Reliance Retail Ventures (RRVL) to help build on its growth in the grocery space with a focus on fruits and vegetables, and strengthen the company’s presence in consumer brands. Sodhi has been roped in to help the business build in its growth in the grocery space and to strengthen the company’s presence in consumer brands.
Vinay Subramanyam
Previous: Chief marketing officer, Pidilite
Vinay Subramanyam, chief marketing officer, Pidilite Industries has stepped down from his position. His next move is expected to be in a food company, said sources close to the development. Subramanyam comes with an experience of more than two decades and has worked across VIP Industries, General Mills, Britannia Industries and Kellogg Company.
Deepa Jatkar
Previous: Manager – global business group – agency vertical, Meta
Present: Chief growth officer, Wavemaker India
GroupM owned media agency Wavemaker India announced the appointment of Deepa Jatkar as its chief growth officer. In her new role, she will help fast track growth by driving new business and creating avenues for growth amongst the agency’s wide spectrum of clients. Jatkar is armed with an experience of over two decades and has worked across McCann Worldgroup, Mindshare, Omnicom Group and MediaCom.
Asad Ayaz
Present: Chief brand officer, Disney
Disney has appointed Asad Ayaz as chief brand officer. In his new role, Ayaz will be in charge of Disney’s core branding function and brand strategy across departments. He will be reporting to the chief executive officer Bob Iger. Ayaz has previously worked at CRA RogersCasey, Audit Integrity and Walt Disney Studios.
Avinash Choudhury
Previous: Associate director, customer marketing, PepsiCo Beverages
Present: Head of marketing, Chaayos
Cafe chain Chaayos has appointed Avinash Choudhary as the head of marketing. He has had stints at ZenithOptimedia India, Star News, Mindshare and Tata Docomo.
Manas Lahiri
Previous: Managing director, Havas
Present: Chief operating officer, Famous Innovations
Independent creative agency Famous Innovations has appointed Manas Lahiri as the chief operating officer. Lahiri comes with an experience of 21 years and has worked across Samsung Mobile, Motorola, Contract India, Commonwealth//McCann, Ogilvy & Mather and Creativeland Asia.
Vishal Sinha
Previous: Business head – digital advertising, Google India
Present: Director – ads strategy, ShareChat
ShareChat, a homegrown social media company, announced the appointment of Vishal Sinha as the director of ads strategy. In the new role, Sinhal will spearhead growth pillars for brand, content and lead performance marketing for both ShareChat and Moj, through direct and agency business. Sinha has previously worked at Vodafone India, Oracle and Gartner.
Akshay Kapoor
Previous: Associate director – marketing, Perfetti Van Melle
Present: Chief marketing officer, DLF
Real estate company DLF has appointed Akshay Kapoor as chief marketing officer. Kapoor, who is skilled in consumer marketing, go-to-market strategy, sales management, market research, communication development, digital marketing, P&L handling, coaching and talent development, comes with an experience of 15 years and has worked across Dabur India, and Pernod Ricard India.
Fabian Trevor Cowan
Previous: Chief executive officer, Sapio Analytics
Present: Chief growth officer, Ideacafe.agency
Fabian Trevor Cowan has been appointed as the chief growth officer by Ideacafe.agency. In his new role, Cowan will drive growth and revenue opportunity initiatives at the agency. He comes with an experience of more than two decades and has worked across Sesa Seat Information Systems, Mid Day, Radio One, Emerging Media UK, Digital Signage Network, OOH Media and Posterscope India.
Kedar Apte
Previous: Chief marketing officer, Jio-bp (joint venture between Reliance & bp for mobility in India)
Kedar Apte has moved on from his position after a span of nearly three years. He comes with an experience of over two decades and has worked at Hindustan Unilever and Castrol.
Madhav Sheth
Present: Vice president – business and corporate strategy (global), Realme
Madhav Sheth will now head the chinese consumer electronics manufacturer Realme as vice president – business and corporate strategy (global). He will continue to look at the India market along with handling the new role. Sheth comes with an experience of two decades and has worked across Synopsis Inc, Priory Business Group, Perfect Communications and Oppo.
Mustufa Arsiwalla
Previous: Associate general manager – Kinder Joy, Ferrero
Present: Chief marketing officer, Britannia Bel Foods
Britannia Bel Foods has roped in Mustufa Arsiwalla as chief marketing officer. As he announced via LinkedIn, “I am excited to take on this role as we deepen our presence and make delicious and nutritious cheese accessible to families in India. My goal is to continue to strengthen the positioning and visibility of the iconic brand, Britannia The Laughing Cow, catering to the evolving needs of Indian consumers.” Arsiwalla comes with an experience of 17 years and has worked across ITC Limited, Parle Agro, Elder Health Care and CavinKare.
Sreejit Nair
Previous: Associate vice president, Restaurant Brand Asia
Present: Associate vice president – business development, Chaayos
Chai cafe chain Chaayos has appointed Sreejit Nair as associate vice president – business development. Nair’s mandate will include heading the expansion for Chaayos Cafe, cloud kitchen, GnT, etc., and will strategize and lead Business Development for the brand nationally. Further, he will also be responsible for Store Development and all hand-holding post start of operations for smooth business and coordination with legal, projects and finance for smooth function of the cafe. Nair has worked across Mphasis, Shoppers Stop and Burger King India in previous stints.
Mohan Subrahmanya
Previous: SVP, Global head of Microsoft business group, Atos
Present: Country leader – India, Insight
Insight Enterprises has appointed Mohan Subrahmanya as the country leader for India. In his new role, he will be responsible for growing India as the key global delivery centre for Insight that will cater to the cloud solutions business and Cloud Academy centre of excellence for talent development. Subrahmanya comes with an experience of over two decades and has worked across CGI, Lucent Technologies, Patni Computer Systems, Corpus, Tech Mahindra and Siemens.
Tsutsumi Otani
Present: President, chief marketing officer and managing director of Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India
Honda Motor Co has given Tsutsumi Otani an additional responsibility. Along with being the vice president at Honda Motor Co in Japan, he will also handle the duties as president, chief marketing officer and managing director of Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India. Otani succeeds Atsushi Ogata, who led Honda’s Indian two-wheeler operations for three years. He will return to Shanghai, China with effect from 1st April 2023 as the executive general manager at Shanghai Branch, Honda Motor (China) Investment.
Ravi Kuppuraj
Previous: Vice president, Best Buy Health
Present: Chief operating officer, Titan Company
Titan Company has appointed Ravi Kuppuraj as the chief operating officer. In his new role, Kuppuraj will lead the business towards new areas of growth and innovation. He has worked across Spacelabs Healthcare, Draeger, InfoBionic, Stealth Med Tech Startup, Connected Sensing, Myolex and Best Buy Health.
Rajeev Singhal
Present: Chief operating officer, Tata International
Tata International has appointed Rajeev Singhal as chief operating officer. In his new role, he will report to Anand Sen, managing director of Tata International, and all vertical heads will report to Singhal. Singhal is armed with an experience of over 35 years. Previously, he was with Tata Steel where his most recent role was as vice president of marketing and sales for flat products.
Ashutosh Sharma
Previous: Senior director – digital marketing, Dentsu India
Present: Vice president – marketing, EaseMyTrip
Online travel company EaseMyTrip has appointed Ashutosh Sharma as vice president – marketing. He has an experience of more than a decade and has been a part of organisations like eSpot Digital Media, iAvatarZ Digital, Tribal Fusion, Adobe, GroupM and Hakuhodo.
Sachin Kamble
Previous: Head of content and partnership, Gaana
Present: Head of digital business – SAARC, Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment has roped in Sachin Kamble as head of digital business for the SAARC region. In his new role, he will lead the company’s digital business with the media partners for digital platforms, television channels, OTT platforms, short form videos etc. He will collaborate with the global teams to drive overall revenue, and his major focus will be to strengthen Sony Music Entertainment’s position and market share. Kamble comes with an experience of more than a decade and has worked across HT Media, Turner, The Walt Disney Company, Star TV Network, Viu and Zee5.
Ramalingam Subramanian
Previous: Head of brand, marketing and communications, CoinDCX
Present: Chief marketing officer, Leaf Round
Bengaluru based startup Leaf Round has appointed Ramalingam Subramanian as chief marketing officer. Subramanian has worked across Tata Consultancy Services, The Coca-Cola Company, Cipla and BigMyGig.
Prajith VM
Previous: Head of digital marketing – APAC, Fossil Group
Present: Head of digital marketing – international, Fossil Group
Fashion company Fossil Group has promoted Prajith VM as head of digital marketing – international. He has previously worked at Cognizant, Diageo India and De Beers Forevermark.
Somil Agrawal
Previous: Senior director – marketing, Innovaccer
Present: Senior vice president, head of marketing, Shiprocket
E-commerce enablement platform Shiprocket has appointed Somil Agrawal as senior vice president, head of marketing. Agrawal is armed with an experience of more than 15 years and has worked across Cisco, BNP Paribas, Airtel, Cushman & Wakefield, APYR Consulting Services and MakeMyTrip.
Sandeep Sonawane
Previous: Vice president – sales (Non Aero), Adani Airport Holdings
Present: Chief business officer, DreamFolks
Airport services aggregator platform DreamFolks has appointed Sandeep Sonawane as chief business officer. In his new role, Sonawane will lead the company’s business development strategy to achieve sustainable financial growth. He is armed with an experience of over two decades and has worked across Dabur India, PepsiCo, SABMiller, Sony Mobile Communications and Pernod Ricard India.
(Compiled by Kashmeera Sambamurthy)