Talent tracker: Top executive changes and appointments last week

Mumbai: New Delhi: From leadership shakeups to new faces stepping into key roles, the brands, media and advertising world is always in motion.

BestMediaInfo.com kicks off its weekly roundup of the most noteworthy movements across brands and agencies, tracking who’s going where and what it means for the industry. 

Whether it's a top-level hire, a creative shift, or a strategic reshuffle, we’ve got you covered with all the key updates—every week.

Dentsu elevates Amit Wadhwa and Anita Kotwani

Dentsu announced the elevation of Wadhwa as Chief Executive Officer, Dentsu Creative & Media Brands, South Asia, and Kotwani as Chief Client Officer, South Asia. Both will jointly report to Harsha Razdan, CEO - South Asia, Dentsu, and Prerna Mehrotra, CCO and CEO - Media, APAC. 

Home Credit India appoints Vivek Singh as CEO

Home Credit appointed Singh as the Chief Executive Officer. Singh brings over 20 years of experience in the financial services sector and will spearhead Home Credit India into its next phase of growth under the TVS Holdings umbrella.

Venke Sharma steps down as Sprinklr’s Global Product Strategy Head

Sharma exited his role as Global Product Strategy Head at Sprinklr, where he spearheaded outbound product strategy, AI-driven innovation, and enterprise adoption for Sprinklr Insights. With 25+ years of experience shaping digital growth for some of the Fortune 500 brands, Sharma is keen to bring his expertise in AI-powered marketing, customer experience, product strategy, and digital transformation to his next leadership opportunity. 

Publicis Groupe South Asia appoints Paritosh Srivastava as CEO of BBH India

Publicis Groupe South Asia appointed Srivastava as Chief Executive Officer of BBH India, in addition to his current role as Chief Executive Officer of Saatchi & Saatchi India, Saatchi Propagate India, and a member of the leadership team of Publicis Groupe South Asia.

Kansai Nerolac promotes Pravin Chaudhari as Managing Director

Kansai Nerolac Paints (KNPL) has appointed Chaudhari as Managing Director. Chaudhari started with Kansai Nerolac in 1993 as a Management Trainee and has since held key leadership roles, including Director of Industrial Sales and Operations and Director of Supply Chain. 

SmartWinnr onboards Jyothish Jayan as Global Marketing Director

SmartWinnr, a provider of AI-powered sales enablement solutions, appointed Jayan as Global Marketing Director. Jayan has 14+ years of experience in B2B SaaS and enterprise marketing, scaling marketing engines for growth-stage companies and building global brands. In his new role, Jayan will lead SmartWinnr’s global marketing function, driving integrated campaigns across demand generation, product marketing, brand positioning, and customer advocacy.

Hitachi elevates MD Bharat Kaushal to Executive Chairman role

Japanese conglomerate Hitachi elevated Indian Managing Director Kaushal to the role of Executive Chairman, effective April 1, 2025. He will also continue to be the acting Managing Director, Hitachi India and Corporate Officer, in charge of Regional Strategies (India), Hitachi. Kaushal was appointed as the first Indian Managing Director in FY2017.

Cleartrip appoints Manjari Singhal as Chief Growth and Business Officer

Cleartrip, a Flipkart company, appointed Singhal as Chief Growth and Business Officer. Anuj Rathi, the current Chief Growth and Business Officer, has stepped down from his role. In her new role, Singhal will oversee the business, growth, marketing, and customer experience functions. Over the next month, she will work closely with Rathi.

CIFDAQ Group appoints Smrita Singh as Group CBCO

CIFDAQ Group, a cryptocurrency exchange, Web 3.0 and blockchain ecosystem, appointed Singh as Group Chief Brand and Communications Officer (CBCO). Prior to joining CIFDAQ Group, Singh was VP – Policy Communications at Dream Sports. She has previously worked at organisations like FedEx, KOOH Sports, Jet Airways

ONDC MD & CEO Thampy Koshy steps down

Koshy, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Open Network of Digital Commerce (ONDC), has stepped down from his role, as per news reports. Koshy joined the company in February 2022. His last working day in the organisation will be June 30, 2025. Reportedly, the company’s board will take on his duties with no plans to replace him for the time being. Before ONDC, Koshy worked with EY for a period of 10 years. He joined the company as Partner and rose to become Advisor. He also worked as Executive Director at the National Security Depository (NSDL).

SoCheers appoints Siddharth Devnani as Co-Founder and COO

SoCheers, a digital-first creative agency, announced the appointment of Co-Founder and Director Devnani as Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer (COO). Devnani aims to focus on driving innovation, operational strategy, and value measurement frameworks to create long-lasting business impact.

Jigsaw Brand Consultants appoints Khyati Sarang as Director – Insights & Strategy

Jigsaw Brand Consultants, a strategic brand consultancy, announced the appointment of Sarang as Director – Insights and Strategy. Sarang has 17+ years of experience creating brand narratives across a range of sectors. An alumna of MICA, she has worked with agencies including Mullen Lowe Lintas, Wunderman Thompson, DDB Mudra, Dentsu Aegis Network, and Cheil India. Sarang has worked on brand transformations across categories like FMCG, Alco-bev, BFSI, retail, consumer durables, household care, and pharma. She has worked with brands such as Glow & Lovely, Rin, Sunsilk, Wheel, Eureka Forbes, Samsonite, Godrej Goodknight, Zydus Wellness, Yes Bank, and Tata Power.

Holiday Tribe appoints Varun Anand as Head of Marketing and Nikhil Kher as Head of Strategic Alliances

Travel-tech company Holiday Tribe announced the appointment of Anand as Head of Marketing and Kher as Head of Strategic Alliances. Anand has formerly been associated with Adobe, MakeMyTrip and Vodafone whereas Kher has worked with Rategain, Key Hotels and Ginger Hotels prior to joining the travel-tech company

Anuja Mishra resigns as CMO of Mamaearth parent Honasa Consumer

Mishra, Chief Marketing Officer of Honasa Consumer—the parent company of Mamaearth—has stepped down from her role. The company disclosed the development in a filing with the BSE, stating that Mishra is moving on for personal reasons. Her last working day will be June 30, 2025. Mishra joined Honasa Consumer in March 2022 as CMO. During her tenure, she led marketing strategies for the group’s brands, including Mamaearth, The Derma Co., and BBlunt.

Anupriya Acharya resigns as Independent Director of DB Corp

DB Corp announced the resignation of Acharya from its Board of Directors, effective post-business hours on May 15, 2025. Acharya, who serves as the South Asia CEO of Publicis Groupe, stepped down from her role as Independent Director due to preoccupation and other professional commitments.

McCann Worldgroup India appoints Sumeer Mathur as Chief Strategy Director

McCann Worldgroup India appointed Mathur as Chief Strategy Director, joining from Dentsu where he was Chief Strategy Officer. He will join MWG India by the end of April 2025. During his time at Dentsu, Mathur led the growth vertical through integrated approaches (Creative, CX, Media, and tech), established Dentsu Creative's first strategy department, and promoted "Modern Creativity" combining culture, data, and technology.

Dhruv Dhawan joins The Trade Desk as VP - Revenue, India

Dhawan has joined The Trade Desk as Vice-President - Revenue, India. Dhawan shared the announcement in a LinkedIn post. Prior to this, he led digital growth for mid-tier and emerging clients at JioStar.