MAM
ICICI Prudential promotes Bhatia to head of marketing
NEW DELHI: ICICI Prudential Life Insurance has appointed Abhishek Bhatia as the head of marketing. The 28-year old, whose career has spanned six years, was previously working as marketing manager with the same insurance company.
Bhatia, an alumnus of IIM Calcutta started his career with SmithKline Beecham Consumer Healthcare , where he was responsible for handling brand Boost. Bhatia decided to move on after a two and a half years stint there and joined ICICI Prudential Life Insurance as a brand manager.
Bhatia is pleased with his sojourn so far. “The main challenge is to think beyond convention. There is hardly any FMCG company with advertising plans looking beyond TV. Almost of all them seem to be missing out on impact. One of the reasons why I joined ICICI Prudential Life Insurance was the fact a new industry and a new company gives freedom and opportunity to do something different. Over here, the challenge was to start a brand from scratch. Having done that with the corporate brand, we also created categories like Retirement Solutions from a zero base. So it’s been quite challenging and satisfying as well,” said Bhatia.
Reminiscing his stint at SmithKline Beecham, he said, “The high point there was creating a 360 degree marketing plan around Sachin Tendulkar. Rather than distributing conventional freebies, we decided to go for memorabilia of Sachin. The idea was not only to reach out to mothers but kids as well, creating pester power.”
Bhatia and his team at ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, which is currently reviewing the media planning and buying account (currently with Initiative Media), has already worked some innovative campaigns. For instance, a tie-up with the Dabbawalla Organisation in Mumbai for a direct marketing exercise, to talk to the customer through a non-cluttered route, and thereby have a higher impact. Also, introducing a tax planner by the name of Chintamani on radio, who would answer consumer’s queries about the role of insurance in financial planning.
MAM
Beacon Group appoints Dr Rajesh Patel as Group CEO
36-year healthcare veteran to lead Beacon Diagnostics, Vector Biotek, Biogeny.
MUMBAI: A new chief, a fresh diagnosis and a sharper prescription for growth. Beacon Group has appointed Dr Rajesh Patel as its Group Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1, 2026, signalling a decisive push to scale its presence in the diagnostics and IVD space. Patel steps into the role with 36 years of experience across the healthcare and diagnostics industry, bringing a career shaped by leadership roles spanning sales, marketing, business development and operational strategy. His mandate is both expansive and precise: to steer the group’s overall strategic direction while tightening coordination across its three core entities Beacon Diagnostics, Vector Biotek and Biogeny Diagnostics.
In practical terms, that means driving cross-company synergies, accelerating market expansion and strengthening organisational capability areas increasingly critical as diagnostic players compete for scale in a fragmented yet rapidly evolving healthcare ecosystem. The group is positioning itself to capture unmet demand across chain laboratories, key accounts and standalone labs, segments that remain underserved despite growing diagnostic needs.
The appointment comes at a time when the In Vitro Diagnostics (IVD) sector in India is entering a more competitive and innovation-led phase, with companies focusing not just on product pipelines but also on service delivery, integration and customer-centric models. Beacon’s leadership appears to be betting that Patel’s execution-focused approach can help translate ambition into operational momentum.
Welcoming the appointment, Chairman Dr D K Joshi described Patel’s induction as a strategic move aligned with the group’s long-term vision, emphasising the role of leadership depth in navigating the next phase of growth.
For Beacon Group, the message is clear, in a sector where precision matters, leadership is the new differentiator—and this appointment is intended to set the tone for what comes next.
