MAM
ISA elects Marico’s Saugata Gupta as chairman
MUMBAI: The newly elected executive council of the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) met on 11 September and elected Marico’s managing director Saugata Gupta as its new chairman.
He takes over from Hemant Bakshi as he relocates to Unilever Indonesia as the CEO.
Gupta has been lending his support to the ISA for a long time as his colleagues from senior levels in marketing and media have been active in different committees of the ISA. An MBA from IIM Bangalore, Gupta has rich FMCG experience of over two decades having worked through ascending career rung in Cadbury (India & UK), ICICI Prudential & Marico. Currently, MD of Marico, he believes in an empowering work culture that would create ownership and make a difference in to the entire business ecosystem.
Gupta said, “Our focus would be on making industry partnership stronger and in particular to extend all support that is needed to help BARC come up as soon as possible with industry wide accepted and accurate TV audience research data representing viewers across the country. I am looking forward to the exciting times ahead for Advertisers, industry partners and fraternity associations to work as a stronger team to harness overall growth of advertising which in turn will help grow businesses and the Indian economy.”
The ISA has advertiser members from across industries who contribute to over two-thirds of the country’s national non-governmental ad spends. ISA, which is member of the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), continues to partner with other industry bodies that connect to the advertisers such as initiating the formation of BARC.
Other members of the Executive Council are:
Tata Services Group Corporate Communications Corporate Affairs VP Atul Agrawal
Thomas Cook (India) Marketing and Service Quality head and chief innovation officer Abraham Alapatt
Agro Tech Foods director Narendra Ambwani
Bajaj Corp Business Development director Jimmy R Anklesaria
Infogain India director JC Chopra
Raymond strategic advisor Paulomi Dhawan
Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care brand director Sonali Dhawan
Aditya Birla Management Corporation Group Corporate Services and Strategy director Rajiv Dube
Godrej Consumer Products chief operating officer – Sales, Marketing & SAARC Sunil Kataria
Bajaj Electricals vice president & head advertising and brand development Beena Leji Koshy
Tata Global Beverages managing director and CEO Ajoy K Misra
Anisha Motwani, Director & Chief Marketing Officer, Max Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
Mondelez India Foods Chocolate Category and Media director Siddhartha Mukherjee
Birla Sun Life Asset Management independent director Bharat V Patel
ITC divisional chief executive Sanjiv Puri
Nestle India Communication head Chandrasekar Radhakrishnan
Polycab Wires vice chairman, joint MD and group CEO R Ramakrishnan
Hindustan Unilever Personal Care Products executive director Samir Singh
Hawkins Cookers chairman Brahm Vasudeva
Brands
Wipro hires 7,500 freshers, withholds FY27 hiring outlook
Profit rises to Rs 3,522 crore, Rs 15,000 crore buyback announced.
MUMBAI- Hiring may be on, but visibility is off, Wipro is adding talent even as it pauses the crystal ball. The company hired 7,500 freshers in FY26 but stopped short of offering any hiring outlook for FY27, underscoring the uncertainty gripping the IT services sector as it pivots towards an AI-led operating model.
The disclosure came alongside its fourth-quarter earnings, where management flagged volatile demand conditions and refrained from committing to future workforce expansion. Chief human resources officer Saurabh Govil noted that over 3,000 of the total hires were onboarded in the March quarter alone, signalling continued intake despite a lack of clarity on deployment pipelines.
This divergence active hiring without forward guidance reflects a broader industry pattern where talent acquisition continues even as deal conversions remain uneven and client spending cycles stretch. Wipro expects its IT services revenue for the June quarter to range between a decline of 2 per cent and flat growth sequentially in constant currency terms, reinforcing near-term caution.
Chief executive officer Srini Pallia pointed to artificial intelligence as both a disruptor and an opportunity. He said evolving client priorities are pushing the company towards outcome-driven engagements, with Wipro increasingly focusing on a services-as-software model through its AI Native Business and Platforms unit. The shift marks a structural change from traditional headcount-led growth to AI-enabled delivery frameworks.
The company has already committed over $1 billion to its AI ecosystem, with investors closely watching how these investments translate into revenue. For now, the numbers present a mixed picture. Net profit rose sequentially to Rs 3,522 crore, while revenue grew 3 per cent to Rs 24,236 crore. However, core IT services performance remained under pressure, with full-year revenue declining 0.3 per cent in dollar terms and 1.6 per cent in constant currency.
Large deal bookings offered a counterpoint, rising 45.4 per cent year-on-year to $7.8 billion, highlighting a widening gap between deal wins and actual revenue realisation. On a quarterly basis, IT services revenue slipped 1.2 per cent sequentially, signalling continued softness in execution.
Margins, however, told a more optimistic story. Operating margins expanded to 17.3 per cent in the fourth quarter, up from 14.8 per cent in the previous quarter, reflecting improved cost discipline. That said, the company cautioned that upcoming wage hikes and the ramp-up of large deals could exert pressure going forward.
Attrition stood at 13.8 per cent in the March quarter, indicating stabilisation after periods of elevated churn. Alongside its earnings, Wipro also announced a Rs 15,000 crore share buyback, reinforcing its focus on shareholder returns, with a payout ratio of 88 per cent over the past three years.
Taken together, the numbers capture a company in transition investing in AI, maintaining hiring momentum, but navigating a demand environment where growth is uneven and visibility remains limited.
