MAM
Padmanabhan joins Neo Cricket as national ad sales head
MUMBAI: Manoj Padmanabhan has joined Neo Sports broadcasting as Neo Cricket national head of ad sales.
Padmanabhan will report to Neo Sports Broadcasting executive VP – network sales Raju Udupa.
He moves in from Somerset Entertainment Ventures (Singapore), where he was senior sales advisor for nearly 10 months. During his stint there, he was instrumental in setting up and creating a business model for the Sri Lanka Premier League.
Padmanabhan said,”Neo is in an interesting growth phase. With the best cricket content for the next few years, I look forward to creating value for the advertisers and maximising revenue for the organisation.”
Before Somerset, Padmanabhan was working at Bloomberg UTV as VP sales for a period of 10 months. Prior to that, he worked at Ten Sports for a period of over four years as director of ad sales.
Udupa added,”We have an action packed season lined up and I am glad to have Manoj on board. He is known for his sharp acumen and sales expertise and I am confident of Neo achieving greater heights.”
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.
