MAM
McDonald’s launches countdown to Winter Olympics
MUMBAI: In around 100 days time the world’s attention will be on Torino, Italy, for the start of the 2006 Olympic Winter Games.
As a Top sponsor and Official restaurant of the Games, fast food major McDonald’s is beginning the countdown.
The company will shortly roll out new global Olympic-Themed Television commercials. The new global creative will feature its mascot Ronald McDonald vignettes and a spot celebrating Olympic dreams –McDonald’s Olympic Champion. McDonald’s CEO Jim Skinner says, “Our McDonald’s restaurant teams have always shared many of the same
ideals as the Olympic teams – excellence, teamwork and being your best. For more than 30 years, we have been a proud sponsor of the Olympic Movement, a partnership that directly aligns with our ongoing commitment to help people live more balanced, active lives.”
Two official Olympic venue McDonald’s restaurants located in the Torino Olympic Village and Main Press Center; will also feature McCafe for the first time ever. McDonald’s wil alos use the Olypocs as a platform to emphasise its ongoing committment to the importance of energy balance through “it’s what i eat and what i do… i’m lovin’ it” on-site activities featuring members of global team of Olympic athletes, hopefuls and mothers.
McDonald’s became an official sponsor of the Olympics in 1976.
MUMBAI: In India’s fast-moving payments race, Visa has just swiped in a new leader. The company has named Suresh Sethi as its India country head, marking a key leadership shift as it sharpens its focus on digital payments growth in the market. Sethi steps into the role following his recent exit from Protean eGov Technologies, where he served as chief executive officer. He succeeds Sandeep Ghosh, who has moved on after more than four years at Visa to pursue an external opportunity.
The appointment comes at a time when Visa is doubling down on its expansion strategy across India and the wider region, deepening partnerships and accelerating adoption in an increasingly competitive digital payments ecosystem.
Sethi brings with him a broad, cross-market perspective shaped by decades of experience across corporate banking, retail financial services, mobile money and large-scale government technology initiatives. He began his career at Citigroup, where he spent 14 years working across India, Africa, South America and the United States, focusing on transaction banking services within the corporate bank.
His appointment signals a blend of institutional experience and market familiarity qualities that could prove critical as Visa navigates a landscape where fintech innovation, regulatory evolution and consumer adoption are all accelerating at once.
As digital payments in India continue to scale rapidly, the leadership change underscores a simple reality, in a market where every tap, scan and swipe counts, who leads the charge can matter just as much as the technology itself.
