Exchange4media marked a series of leadership birthdays and career milestones across India's media and marketing sector this week, spotlighting executives who have shaped brand strategy at companies from Perfetti Van Melle to Eros Now. The coverage arrives alongside major agency appointments, a high-stakes legal battle over comparative advertising, and a structural shift in how brands are planning festive media spends.
Leadership moves and agency wins
Mastercard appointed We. Communications as its global communications partner, adding the financial services giant to the agency's international client portfolio. The account will draw on We. Communications' global network and capabilities.
In other leadership news, Shashank ND was elevated to Managing Director and Executive Chairman at Practo, while Jagnoor Singh, previously Chief Operating Officer, took over as Chief Executive Officer. SPNI appointed Spandana Ravindran as Vice President of Ad Sales. She joins from JioStar, where she served as Senior Director. Ajay Agrawal was named CEO of Devgn CineX, bringing more than two decades of leadership experience across BFSI, infrastructure, fintech, and manufacturing.
Firstsource elevated Aditi Bhandari as Vice President of Marketing. She was previously AVP-Marketing at the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group company. boAt Lifestyle appointed Saikat Mukhopadhyay as CFO. He joins from WheelsEye, where he was Group Chief Financial Officer. Criteo confirmed that Medhavi Singh will exit in early October after nine years with the commerce media company. Szi-Wei Lo will oversee the India business during the transition.
Comparative advertising heads to court
The Delhi High Court declined to approve Bombay Shaving Company's revised advertisement in its ongoing dispute with Gillette. Legal experts said the core question extends beyond the courtroom: where does comparative advertising end and brand belittling begin?
"The aim should be to highlight one's product, not take a dig at a competitor," legal experts told exchange4media. For the ad industry, the case tests how far creative teams can push competitive messaging before crossing a legal line.
Festive media strategy shifts upstream
Brands are moving festive media investments earlier in the purchase cycle, chasing consumer intent before Diwali advertising inflation kicks in. The shift emerged as a key theme at "The Festive Surge: Winning India's Billion Shoppers," a closed-door leadership roundtable hosted by exchange4media with Branch Discovery.
At the e4m D2C Summit 5.0, Google India's Head of Mid Market Sales Ila Wadhwa outlined a three-pronged playbook for brands targeting a share of India's ₹1.2 lakh crore festive season. The strategy focuses on YouTube's reach, Google's intent data, and performance marketing tools for direct-to-consumer brands.
Content and platform updates
JioStar unveiled "Jungle Tales with Mowgli" under its Kids & Family portfolio, broadcasting the series on JioHotstar and Disney Channel. Separately, Spikes Asia announced it will evolve into LIONS Asia, with the first LIONS Asia Festival of Creativity and Asia Lions Awards scheduled for Singapore in September 2027.
Piyush Pandey was inducted into The One Club's Creative Hall of Fame, a recognition of his decades-long influence on Indian advertising. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting introduced new film certification categories: U/A 7+, 13+, and 16+, revising guidelines that shape how content reaches audiences.
Why this matters for PR and communications professionals
The week's developments highlight three pressure points for communications leaders. First, the Gillette-Bombay Shaving Company dispute shows that comparative advertising claims now face rapid legal scrutiny - PR teams must align creative and legal review processes earlier. Second, the upstream shift in festive media buying means communications calendars need to sync with performance marketing timelines, not just brand campaigns. Third, the volume of C-suite moves across Practo, SPNI, Criteo, and boAt signals that leadership transition communications will be a recurring demand. Professionals who can manage executive reputation during these transitions will find growing opportunity in India's AI for Marketing and brand strategy ecosystem.
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