Brands
PNB Housing Finance appoints Ajai Kumar Shukla as MD and CEO
NEW DELHI: PNB Housing Finance has a new hand on the tiller. The housing lender said Ajai Kumar Shukla has assumed charge as managing director and chief executive officer with effect from December 18, 2025, marking a leadership reset as the company charts its next growth cycle.
The appointment, approved by the board on the recommendation of the nomination and remuneration committee, is for a five-year term and follows receipt of regulatory clearances. The company had earlier informed stock exchanges of the decision.
Shukla brings more than three decades of experience in housing and mortgage lending. He joins from Tata Capital Housing Finance, where he spent 16 years in senior leadership roles spanning business growth, credit, risk management, valuation, digital transformation and affordable housing finance. Earlier stints include ICICI Bank and LIC Housing Finance.
D Surendran, chairperson and non-executive nominee director, said Shukla’s domain depth and execution track record would be critical as the lender strengthens its franchise and sharpens its focus on sustainable growth and customer trust.
Shukla called the role a timely opportunity, saying the company was well placed to align with India’s housing ambitions while pushing operational excellence, innovation and inclusive growth.
With a seasoned operator at the helm, PNB Housing Finance is signalling intent. In a tightening market, experience, it seems, is back in fashion.
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.
