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Ola Electric names Deepak Rastogi CFO as Harish Abichandani bows out
MUMBAI: Ola Electric has appointed Deepak Rastogi as chief financial officer, ushering in a new finance chief as Harish Abichandani exits the electric two-wheeler maker.
The appointment, approved by the board and disclosed in an exchange filing on January 19, takes effect from January 20, 2026. Rastogi will also serve as key managerial personnel and join the company’s senior management team. Abichandani stepped down citing personal reasons, with his resignation effective January 19.
Rastogi joins Ola Electric from real estate developer Puravankara Limited, where he was group CFO. He brings more than two decades of experience across manufacturing, chemicals, auto components and infrastructure, with deep exposure to large, complex balance sheets.
His career began at Raymond Synthetics as assistant manager, accounts, followed by roles at Castrol and DuPont. He later moved to Alcatel-Lucent as head of finance before joining The Timken Company, where he rose from CFO for India to CFO for Asia, overseeing finance, planning, fund-raising, taxation, risk management, compliance and M&A, while driving EBIT improvement and shareholder value.
Rastogi subsequently served as president and group CFO at Tata Autocomp Systems and later at Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals, cementing his reputation as a turnaround-focused finance leader.
The appointment comes at a critical juncture for Ola Electric as it sharpens its focus on scale, margins and governance. With a heavyweight CFO in the saddle and a clean handover at the top, the EV maker is signalling that the next phase will be less about speed and more about financial discipline.
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Nodwin Gaming appoints Sonal Varma as global director of live events
Former Comic Con India VP to scale global gaming and pop culture experiences
MUMBAI: Nodwin Gaming has appointed Sonal Varma as global director of live events, bringing on board a seasoned architect of fan communities as the company accelerates its global push in gaming, esports and youth culture.
Varma steps into the role with more than 15 years of experience creating large-scale fan experiences and cultural platforms. She is best known for her long stint at Comic Con India, where she most recently served as vice president and helped transform the convention into one of the country’s most recognisable pop culture gatherings.
At Nodwin Gaming, Varma will lead the strategy, design and execution of the company’s global live event initiatives. Her mandate includes expanding flagship intellectual properties and developing new formats that bring gaming communities together across emerging markets.
Over the years, Varma has been closely associated with building and scaling community-led events such as Comic Con India, Geekly and the Indian Cosplay Championship. Her work has focused on turning niche fandoms into thriving cultural ecosystems by blending entertainment, creator culture and brand partnerships.
Her appointment comes at a time when Nodwin Gaming is expanding its international events footprint through properties such as DreamHack India, NH7 Weekender, Comic Con India and the Battlegrounds Mobile India Series. The company has also been growing its presence across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa through esports tournaments, gaming festivals and fan conventions.
Nodwin Gaming co-founder and managing director Akshat Rathee, said Varma’s experience in building fan-centric platforms would play a key role in the company’s next phase of growth.
“Sonal brings a deep understanding of how live experiences can bring communities together around gaming and pop culture. As we expand our global live events footprint, her experience will help us create experiences that feel authentic and meaningful for audiences across markets,” he said.
Varma said the scale of opportunity at Nodwin Gaming made the move particularly exciting.
“Joining Nodwin Gaming at this moment feels incredibly exciting because the canvas is so large. There are new audiences, new markets and new formats waiting to be explored. I’m looking forward to working with teams across the network to create live experiences that celebrate gaming culture while staying rooted in the communities that power it,” she said.
Over the past few years, Nodwin Gaming has built an ecosystem that stretches across competitive gaming, creator communities, music festivals and youth culture platforms. With Varma now leading global live events, the company is looking to further expand its flagship properties while experimenting with new formats that blend gaming, entertainment and fandom for audiences around the world.
