Brands
Naveen Prashanth joins JioStar as SVP of consumer marketing
Former Google and YouTube Shorts lead takes charge at new media giant
MUMBAI: JioStar has brought in a familiar digital heavyweight to steer its consumer story. Naveen Prashanth has been appointed SVP of consumer marketing at the newly formed media powerhouse, where he will lead strategic marketing initiatives across its portfolio.
Prashanth steps into the role after a high-impact five-year stint at Google. There, he led marketing for YouTube Shorts as well as creator and artist initiatives, helping the short-form platform scale engagement and deepen its connection with India’s fast-growing creator economy.
His work at Google focused on building strong ecosystems for creators and artists, turning short videos into a cultural mainstay rather than a passing trend. It is an experience that now travels with him to JioStar, a company looking to capture attention across screens and formats.
Before Google, Prashanth spent over five years at McKinsey & Company as senior engagement manager, advising businesses across sectors. Earlier in his career, he worked at Essex Lake Group as associate and at TCS e-Serve as analyst, building a foundation in analytics and consulting.
Alongside his corporate roles, he is also the founder of The Social Impact Collective, a non-profit initiative launched in 2021.
With his mix of consulting rigour, platform know-how and creator-first thinking, Prashanth arrives at JioStar at a time when the battle for viewers’ attention is sharper than ever.
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.
