MAM
Industry bids farewell to Andre Nair
MUMBAI: It was a farewell to remember for Andre Nair – outgoing chief of Group M in India. The heavyweights of the industry were there to wish him luck on the eve of his departure to Singapore where he will be taking charge of Mediaedge:cia Asia Pacific as its chairman and CEO.
They all turned up….
Peter Mukerjea & Harish Thawani Star India big daddy Peter Mukerjea and wife Indrani, SET India bossman Kunal Dasgupta, MTV head honcho Alex Kuruvilla, NDTV Media’s Raj Nayak, Chitralekha’s Bharat Kapadia, JWT India’s Mike Khanna, O&M’s Ranjan and Jimmy Kapur and Piyush Pandey, HLL group media manager (Central Asia) B Venkataramanan, Mediaturf’s V Ramani,
Mike Khanna & Nair saying their goodbyes Nimbus’ Harish Thawani, Zee TV’s new CEO Pradeep Guha, Discovery’s Deepak Shourie, IMRB’s Hemant Mehta, TAM’s LV Krishnan, Lodestar Media AsiaPac head Shashi Sinha, columnist Shobhaa De, HSBC marketing boss Sangeeta Pendurkar and Media Direction head Sandeep Tarkas, as also Sony’s Albert Almeida and Rohit Gupta.
And yes Nair’s team were there in full strength: CEO Ashutosh Srivastava, Vikram Sakhuja, CVL Srinivas, M Suku, LS Krishnan… the list goes on.
Andre Nair, Ashutosh Srivastava and Vikram Sakhuja with the cops
The highlight of the evening was, of course, Nair’s quick silver dancing on the floor. He even got Mike Khanna to do a jig with him, apart from getting close with his wife Aubrey. The pony tailed Mensa member actually donned an MTV Bakra cap for a large part of the evening. The cap came courtesy his being made a ‘bakra’ by Sakhuja and Srivastava, when he was accosted by two police men who came up to The Rampart Row in Mumbai’s plush Colaba area, with one mission – stop the evening and arrest Nair.
“Three Cheers!!!” Nair along with Ashutosh Srivastava
The fun went on for more than 20 minutes and the cops, Sakhuja and Srivastava were seen frantically trying to reach people on their phones, while Nair sweat it out in the middle surrounded by two cops, one with a ‘lathi’ in his hand.
Nair with wife Aubrey
They called off the action and had a good laugh as Aubrey looked concerned and told the team to call of the gag. Nair took it pretty sportingly and donned the cap.
The party rocked as it went on till the wee hours of the morning. Nair for one, is not going to forget his India innings any time soon.
Brands
YFLO appoints Tania Nijhawan as president for 2026-27 term
Dentist-entrepreneur to lead women’s body amid rising focus on leadership
NEW DELHI: Young FICCI Ladies Organisation (YFLO), the women’s arm of FICCI, has appointed Tania Nijhawan as its president for the 2026-27 tenure, effective April 2026, at a time when conversations around women’s leadership in India are gaining fresh momentum.
A cosmetic and paediatric dentist with over 15 years of experience, Nijhawan is the founder of Udana Wellness, a multi-speciality clinic in Vasant Vihar known for its focus on advanced treatments and patient-centric care. She also serves as director at Nijhawan Group and is an active investor in start-ups across health, wellness and hospitality, including Nuts For Us.
Her academic credentials include advanced training from global institutions such as New York University, the University of Southern California and University College London, shaping her multidisciplinary approach across dentistry and wellness.
YFLO has long positioned itself as a platform for leadership, entrepreneurship and professional growth, bringing together women across industries to drive dialogue and collaboration. Under Nijhawan’s leadership, the organisation is expected to sharpen its focus on cross-sector engagement and meaningful, future-facing conversations.
Speaking on her appointment, Tania Nijhawan said, “YFLO has always stood for meaningful engagement and forward-thinking dialogue. I look forward to building a platform that not only encourages exchange of ideas but also actively supports emerging voices and creates opportunities for collaboration across sectors.”
She added, “The Women’s Reservation Bill, which seeks to reserve 33% of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies, is not just a policy shift, it is a generational opportunity. It acknowledges the urgent need for women to have a stronger voice in shaping the nation’s future. True progress lies not just in representation, but in enabling women to lead with agency, confidence and impact.”
As president, Nijhawan will focus on curated programming, high-impact industry conversations and initiatives that bring together women across disciplines. Her theme for the year, “Lead With Your Light,” signals a push towards purpose-led leadership and greater confidence among emerging voices.
Her appointment marks a new chapter for YFLO, one that aims to align leadership, enterprise and policy at a time when women’s voices are increasingly central to India’s growth story.
