Brands
Sony names Harsh Sheth business head of Sony Entertainment Television
MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Networks India has tapped Harsh Sheth to run the business of Sony Entertainment Television, one of the country’s most recognisable Hindi general entertainment channels, signalling a renewed push on profitability and scale.
Sheth joins as business head – Sony Entertainment Television, with responsibility for overall business strategy and P&L. He will report to Nachiket Pantvaidya, chief content officer for SET, Sony Marathi and movie production.
The appointment brings to SET a media executive with nearly two decades of experience across television and digital platforms. Sheth most recently served as business head for Star Bharat and Star Utsav at JioStar, where he oversaw Star Utsav’s turnaround after its free-to-air entry, steering the channel to the number one position nationally. He also strengthened Star Bharat’s financial performance through tighter cost controls and sharper content optimisation.
Before JioStar, Sheth spent more than a decade at Disney Star, where he played a central role in building the company’s Hindi and English movie networks. As business head – Hindi and English movies, he drove sustained profitability and forged long-term partnerships with studios and creative talent.
Nachiket Pantvaidya said Sheth’s appointment comes at a pivotal moment for the channel. “Harsh brings a strong blend of commercial acumen, audience insight and leadership experience. As SET sharpens its growth and business ambitions, his track record of building large, profitable entertainment businesses will be a valuable addition,” he said.
Sheth called SET “one of India’s most iconic entertainment brands” and said he was looking forward to the next phase of growth. “I’m excited to join SPNI and work closely with Nachiket and the leadership team to strengthen SET’s market leadership,” he said.
Sony Pictures Networks India, the consumer-facing identity of Culver Max Entertainment, operates 28 premium channels across entertainment, movies, sports, kids and factual genres, alongside OTT platform Sony LIV. The network reaches more than 700 million viewers in India and is available in over 150 countries.
With Sheth at the helm of SET’s business, SPNI is betting that disciplined execution and audience-led strategy can keep one of Indian television’s biggest brands firmly in the race, even as competition for eyeballs grows fiercer by the day.
Brands
Faber-Castell India appoints Sunaina Haldar as director – marketing
With stints at Tata, SleepyCat and ADF Foods under her belt, Haldar is primed to redraw Faber-Castell’s brand story
MUMBAI: Faber-Castell India has poached Sunaina Haldar from ADF Foods, appointing her director – marketing as the German stationery brand looks to muscle up in a category that is rapidly reinventing itself around creativity and self-expression.
Haldar hit the ground running. “My first couple of weeks have been incredibly energising, understanding consumers, visiting markets, engaging with retailers and immersing myself into the world of Faber-Castell Group,” she said.
She arrives with considerable firepower. At ADF Foods, Haldar ran marketing across India and international markets for a portfolio spanning Ashoka, Aeroplane, Camel and ADF Soul. Before that, she was vice-president – marketing at direct-to-consumer mattress brand SleepyCat, where she helmed brand, content and performance marketing. Her résumé also includes a stint leading marketing, new product development and CRM for Tata SmartFoodz at Tata Consumer Products, no small proving ground.
Between corporate roles, Haldar also operated as a fractional CMO for early-stage startups, building marketing strategy and operational structures from scratch, a signal that she knows how to move fast with limited resources.
With 18 years straddling FMCG, D2C and the startup world, Haldar now takes the reins at a brand that has long owned the classroom but is clearly hungry for the living room. In a stationery market where the pencil has become a lifestyle statement, Faber-Castell has picked someone who knows exactly how to sell that story.
