Brands
Kotak Mahindra Bank elevates Nilesh C. to CTO
MUMBAI: Kotak Mahindra Bank has promoted Nilesh C. to the role of chief technology officer, handing him the keys to the bank’s entire technology engine. The elevation marks a significant step up within the leadership ranks and signals a wider, more unified approach to digital strategy.
Nilesh moves into the CTO chair after serving as CIO and president for wholesale, commercial, and enterprise technology, where he played a central role in shaping the bank’s corporate and commercial tech backbone. His work focused on building systems that could keep pace with the bank’s expanding business, while ensuring reliability at scale.
In his new role, he will oversee the bank’s end-to-end technology agenda, covering digital innovation, platform modernisation, and enterprise engineering standards. The position places him at the heart of Kotak’s push to sharpen its digital edge and streamline operations across business lines.
Before joining Kotak, Nilesh held senior technology leadership roles at Barclays, including CIO for global payments and managing director for retail banking technology. Earlier in his career, he spent several years at JPMorgan Chase, where he served as executive director across technology functions.
His professional journey also includes stints at IDFC Bank and Citi, where he worked on core banking platforms, payments, cash management, and large-scale technology rollouts across multiple regions.
With more than two decades in financial technology, Nilesh’s rise to CTO reflects both his long track record and Kotak’s intent to put technology at the centre of its growth story.
Brands
Big Bowl appoints Lyxel & Flamingo as social and media partner
QSR brand eyes next growth phase after crossing Rs 100 crore ARR milestone
MUMBAI: Big Bowl, one of India’s largest bowl-format quick service restaurant brands from Lenexis Foodworks, has appointed Lyxel & Flamingo (L&F) as its social and media partner as it prepares for its next phase of growth.
The partnership comes after the brand crossed the Rs 100 crore annual recurring revenue milestone in 2025 and aims to help accelerate its journey towards Rs 150 crore ARR in its fifth year since launch.
Big Bowl currently operates more than 250 kitchens across 50 cities and has emerged as a major player in India’s organised bowl-format food segment. Built around hearty portions and delivery-first convenience, the brand offers a wide mix of Indian, Chinese and fusion bowls designed for quick, affordable and portable consumption.
As urban consumers increasingly gravitate towards easy-to-carry and value-driven meal formats, the company sees the bowl category as a scalable format aligned with modern eating habits.
With the appointment of Lyxel & Flamingo, Big Bowl plans to consolidate its social media and digital media operations under a single partner. The move is intended to sharpen its digital reach, strengthen youth-focused storytelling and improve performance marketing outcomes.
Lyxel & Flamingo, one of India’s largest independent digital-first agencies, manages more than 350 brands and oversees advertising spends exceeding $100 million across its network.
Under the mandate, the agency will handle Big Bowl’s social media strategy, content development, digital performance marketing, media planning and buying, as well as campaign amplification across platforms.
Commenting on the partnership, Lenexis Foodworks founder and director Aayush Madhusudan Agrawal said, “Big Bowl has scaled rapidly to cross Rs 100 crore ARR and established itself as one of the largest bowl-format brands in the country. As a delivery-first, digitally native brand, our next phase of growth will be driven by sharper performance systems and stronger brand storytelling. Consolidating social and media with Lyxel & Flamingo allows us to integrate data, creativity and media precision as we scale towards our next revenue milestone.”
Lenexis Foodworks marketing head Vikas Iyer, added that the delivery-led category requires content, media and performance marketing to work closely together.
“With Lyxel & Flamingo, we aim to build a sharper social voice, stronger acquisition systems and measurable impact, ensuring the brand scales not just in presence but also in precision,” he said.
Lyxel & Flamingo chief executive officer Dev Batra, said the agency will combine data-driven marketing with creative storytelling to support Big Bowl’s growth. “Big Bowl brings the flavour, and L&F brings the fire. Our strategy combines data-led performance with engaging storytelling to help build a strong digital brand presence while delivering measurable business results,” he said.
With this partnership, Big Bowl is looking to strengthen its position as a digitally driven QSR brand, blending brand-building with performance marketing as it scales within India’s rapidly growing organised food delivery market.
