Brands
Hyundai Motor signs up as ICC premier partner for 2026–27 tournaments
AHMEDABAD/SEOUL: Hyundai Motor Company has struck a global partnership with the International Cricket Council, becoming a premier partner for major men’s and women’s tournaments across the 2026–27 cycle.
The deal covers six marquee ICC events, including the Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027, giving Hyundai exclusive rights around matchday moments such as the coin toss, prominent in-stadium branding and bespoke fan engagement initiatives.
The partnership reinforces Hyundai’s push to deepen brand connections through sport, particularly in cricket-heavy markets such as India, where the game commands vast cultural and commercial influence. The carmaker said its global subsidiaries would collaborate to activate the sponsorship across digital, experiential and on-ground platforms.
Hyundai Motor Company president and chief executive José Muñoz, said the partnership would help the brand connect with more than two billion cricket fans worldwide, adding that cricket’s reach and emotional pull aligned closely with Hyundai’s values of resilience and progress.
ICC chairman Jay Shah, said the global tournaments offered a powerful platform to engage fans through innovative digital and in-stadium integrations, welcoming Hyundai as a premier partner for the upcoming cycle.
The agreement marks Hyundai’s return to ICC cricket after an earlier association between 2011 and 2015. Fans attending matches are expected to see interactive fan zones, vehicle showcases and digital engagement initiatives rolled out across host venues.
The partnership was announced at a ceremony at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Hyundai Motor India managing director and chief executive designate Tarun Garg, said the deal underlined India’s growing importance within Hyundai’s global operations and would be supported by a 360-degree communications push spanning PR, digital, experiential and dealership networks.
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.
