Talent Tracker: Leadership shifts at Marico, PepsiCo, InMobi, JSW Sports and more

New Delhi: As July begins, the Indian marketing, media, and advertising sectors are seeing several leadership changes. From major exits to new appointments, senior professionals are moving across FMCG, digital media, entertainment, and tech. While Marico’s CMO Somasree Bose Awasthi steps down after three years, PepsiCo India has named Saakshi Verma Menon as its new CMO for Foods. Changes are also taking place at Wellbeing Nutrition, JSW Sports, Dentsu, VML, and Connect Digital. 

This tracker rounds up the key executive moves shaping brand growth, content, and consumer strategy in the coming months.

Somasree Bose Awasthi quits as CMO at Marico

Somasree Bose Awasthi has stepped down as Chief Marketing Officer at Marico, bringing her nearly three-year tenure to a close. The company confirmed her exit, citing personal reasons.

During her time at Marico, Awasthi played a key role in strengthening marketing capabilities, driving innovation, and shaping strategic processes. Before joining Marico, she spent over 16 years at Godrej Consumer Products, where she led marketing for categories like insecticides, hair colour, and soaps.

PepsiCo India appoints Saakshi Verma Menon as CMO, Foods

PepsiCo India has named Saakshi Verma Menon as Chief Marketing Officer for its Foods division, which includes brands such as Lay’s, Kurkure, Uncle Chipps, Quaker, Cheetos, and Doritos.Menon was previously Senior Marketing Director for Africa, Middle East & South Asia at PepsiCo. In her new role, she will lead brand strategy, innovation, and consumer engagement across the India Foods portfolio.

Menon brings two decades of marketing experience, having worked at Colgate-Palmolive, Coca-Cola, Uber, and Kimberly-Clark. She joined PepsiCo in January 2024.

Wellbeing Nutrition appoints Varun Kandhari as Chief Marketing and Growth Officer

Wellbeing Nutrition has named Varun Kandhari as its Chief Marketing and Growth Officer. With over 18 years of experience, Kandhari has held leadership roles at Mars Wrigley, Unilever, and most recently, Davide Campari-Milano N.V.

At Mars Wrigley, he was part of the India Executive Leadership Team and led marketing, category expansion, and profitability initiatives. He has also worked in Unilever’s Home & Personal Care division across South Asia.

JSW Sports appoints Gaurav Kalra as Chief Content and Marketing Officer

Gaurav Kalra has joined JSW Sports as Chief Content and Marketing Officer. He brings over 25 years of experience in journalism, digital media, and sports content across platforms including JioStar, ESPN, CNN-News18, Network18, and Reliance Foundation.

Kalra began his career at BITV in 1996 and has since worked extensively across broadcast and digital media with a strong focus on editorial and sports storytelling. At JSW Sports, he will lead content and marketing strategy to drive deeper audience engagement and build the organisation’s brand presence across channels.

InMobi CMO Bikash Chowdhury steps down, announces new venture

Bikash Chowdhury has stepped down as Chief Marketing Officer at InMobi, ending a 14-year stint with the company.

In a LinkedIn post, Chowdhury reflected on his journey and announced his next chapter, a full-time focus on Zebu, a storytelling and training venture he co-founded with K. Srikrishna.

Over the years, Chowdhury led marketing at both InMobi and Glance, spearheading campaigns with names like Hardik Pandya and Rana Daggubati, and driving brand and digital strategies globally.

Dentsu India appoints Sujeet Behra as President, Carat & CSO, Dentsu Media

Dentsu India has promoted Sujeet Behra to President of Carat and Chief Strategy Officer, Dentsu Media. He succeeds Sanchayeeta Verma, who has moved on from her role as Carat CEO.

Behra has been with Carat for over three years, previously serving as Chief Growth Officer, Chief Strategy Officer, and Carat North business head. In his expanded role, he will lead Carat’s strategic direction and spearhead insight-driven, cross-functional media solutions across the Dentsu Media network. He will report to Amit Wadhwa, CEO, Dentsu Creative & Media Brands, South Asia.

Anurag Prasad takes charge of Lowe Lintas Gurugram as Naveen Gaur exits

Lowe Lintas has elevated Chief Strategy Officer Anurag Prasad to also lead its Gurgaon office, following the departure of Naveen Gaur after a 15-year stint. Gaur is leaving to explore entrepreneurial opportunities.

Prasad, a Lintas veteran of over two decades, has shaped strategies for marquee brands like Maruti Suzuki, Google, and Havells. He has also played a key role in integrating the agency’s cultural insights programme, State of States, into brand planning.

Amit Gupta steps down as Managing Director of VML Commerce India

Amit Gupta has stepped down from his role as Managing Director at VML Commerce India, concluding a 22-year journey with the WPP network.

In a LinkedIn post, Gupta reflected on his time building and scaling Eperium India, which later became part of Wunderman Thompson Commerce and ultimately transitioned into VML.

As MD, Gupta oversaw enterprise-level e-commerce projects and helped shape delivery operations for global clients.

Connect Digital appoints Fabian Cowan as Director to lead DOOH business

Connect Network Inc. has named Fabian Cowan as Director, Connect Digital to spearhead its digital out-of-home (DOOH) operations.

With over 20 years of experience across OOH, DOOH, radio, and print, Cowan is tasked with driving innovation and growth through the company’s AdTech platform, Immersive.

Haresh Nayak, CEO of Connect Network Inc., praised Cowan’s media acumen and commercial clarity, calling him “the ideal choice” to lead this vertical.

Vinay Kumar Guwalani joins Saregama as SVP, Music Monetisation and Marketing

Saregama has appointed Vinay Kumar Guwalani as Senior Vice-President, Music Monetisation and Marketing, effective July 1, 2025.

With over 17 years of experience in the music and entertainment industry, Guwalani was previously Director, Label & Artist Solutions at Believe, where he led digital monetisation and artist partnerships.

He has also held leadership roles at Zee Music Company, with expertise in licensing, marketing, and content strategy.

Huella Services appoints Pankajj Rai as Vice-President, Ad Sales

Huella Services has named Pankajj Rai as Vice-President, Ad Sales. In his new role, Rai will lead monetisation for Newsroom AI and support the company’s wider strategic initiatives across product and partnerships.

With over 18 years of experience in broadcast and digital media, Rai has held senior roles at Zee Media and Qyou Media, and previously led commercial operations for multiple Zee network channels.