MAM
Confluent announces strategic hires to bolster India momentum
Mumbai: Confluent, Inc, the data streaming pioneer, has announced strategic new hires in India to support the company’s customer growth and momentum in the region. The company has onboarded Agastee Khante as head of marketing for India & Saarc, Jeevan Duggal as head of public sector for India and Suman Karthik as principal engineer for Confluent platform.
Confluent’s momentum in India is driven by the country’s digital-first outlook and growing customer demand for real-time information across industries. The company is seeing strong adoption, especially among BFSI companies, public sector agencies, and digital natives. The new hires will play a critical role in supporting Confluent’s continued growth in India and globally. Agastee will drive marketing campaigns and programs, while Jeevan will develop and execute go-to-market strategies for the public sector in the country. Suman will lead the continued development of Confluent Platform for global use.
“Home to the biggest Kafka community outside of the US, India represents a strategic growth market for Confluent as more organisations adopt data streaming for their most critical systems,” said Confluent area vice president & country manager – India Rubal Sahni. “Our remote-first model allows us to reach more talent from all over the country and also better positions us to support our global customer base. We are excited to welcome Agastee, Jeevan and Suman to the team to meet the rapidly growing customer demand.”
Agastee joined Confluent as the India marketing leader based in Gurgaon. With close to two decades of experience in marketing and product management, Agastee will focus on enhancing Confluent’s brand presence and driving integrated marketing programs and campaigns in India. “I’m thrilled to be joining Confluent and look forward to helping drive awareness and demand for the leading data streaming platform in this high-growth market,” said Agastee.
Based in Delhi, Jeevan has over 25 years of experience working with public sector organizations in sales and account management. Specialising in the areas of data security and data management, Jeevan worked closely with customers to design their IT infrastructure and digital transformation initiatives while keeping with regulatory requirements. Jeevan said, “Confluent’s data streaming platform is revolutionizing how government bodies build mission-critical systems and enhance citizen services. I’m excited to bring my understanding of the space to help our public sector customers realize the benefits and true value of data streaming.”
Suman joins Confluent as principal engineer for Confluent platform from Hyderabad. Having spent his career building technology at startups and large organisations across a range of domains, Suman brings a broad spectrum of technological expertise to Confluent. As the lead for Confluent Platform, Suman will build on Confluent’s vision of developing a data streaming platform that is complete and everywhere, thereby enabling customers to achieve a central nervous system of data for their organization. “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to shape the technology and engineering of Confluent Platform in a meaningful way”, Suman remarked.
India has become Confluent’s biggest workforce based outside of the United States. To support the growing demand in India, Confluent plans to increase the local headcount by 25 per cent in 2024.
Confluent and associated marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Confluent, Inc.
Brands
Abhinav Rastogi named global marketing director for YouTube Shopping
Google veteran to scale creator commerce and expand shopping across global markets
SINGAPORE: Abhinav Rastogi has stepped into a new role as global marketing director for YouTube Shopping, marking the latest chapter in a more than decade-long career at Google.
Rastogi, who took on the position in February and is based in Singapore, will lead global marketing for YouTube Shopping, a platform designed to connect creators, viewers and merchants in a single ecosystem. His remit includes expanding the service into new markets and strengthening its positioning as a growth channel for both creators and brands.
In a reflective note on the transition, Rastogi pointed to a simple but powerful idea driving the role. For years, creators have quietly built trust with audiences through consistent and authentic content, and that trust often shapes purchasing decisions. What is changing now, he said, is the infrastructure around that behaviour. YouTube Shopping aims to make it easier for viewers to discover and buy products recommended by creators they already follow.
The scale is already significant. More than half a million creators have joined the programme, with recent expansion into Japan through a partnership with Rakuten signalling further global ambitions.
Rastogi believes the future of shopping on YouTube will be driven by a blend of creators, content and communities. In his view, it is the human voice behind the screen, not just the product, that ultimately builds trust and drives discovery.
Prior to this role, he served as director of marketing, YouTube Asia Pacific, where he led regional marketing across creator engagement, brand building and reputation. During that time, he played a key role in launching and scaling YouTube Shopping across eight markets in the region.
Earlier stints at Google include group product marketing manager, consumer apps, overseeing growth for products such as Search, Maps and Assistant across India and Southeast Asia, and product marketing manager roles spanning consumer apps and YouTube, where he contributed to launches including YouTube Music, YouTube Originals and YouTube Shorts.
Rastogi began his career in consulting with Boston Consulting Group and A.T. Kearney, before moving into the technology sector. He is an alumnus of Indian Institute of Management Calcutta and Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur.
Alongside his corporate role, he is also an active angel investor, backing early-stage startups in consumer technology and electric mobility across India and Southeast Asia.
As he settles into the new role, Rastogi is betting on a future where every video can double up as a storefront, and where commerce feels less like a transaction and more like a recommendation from a trusted voice.
