Brands
Senjam Raj Sekhar joins Air India as global head of communications
Former MPL and Flipkart communications lead takes charge at Tata-owned airline
NEW DELHI: Air India has named Senjam Raj Sekhar as its new global head of communications, bringing on board a seasoned reputation strategist at a time when the Tata Group-owned airline is deep into its transformation journey.
Sekhar announced the move, calling it both an honour and a responsibility. He described Air India as an enduring emblem of the country’s aviation heritage, now entering a new phase under the Tata Group as it aims to evolve into a world class global airline with an Indian heart.
He said he looks forward to working with the communications team to tell the airline’s story as it charts its path to join the ranks of the world’s finest carriers.
Sekhar joins the airline after a five year stint at Mobile Premier League, where he served as head, global communications. At the gaming platform, he led reputation, policy and corporate communications during a period marked by regulatory shifts and intense competition. Campaigns under his leadership picked up multiple honours, including top prizes at the South Asia Sabre Awards and the ET Kaleidoscope Awards.
Before MPL, he was head of corporate communications at Flipkart, where he helped shape the company’s reputation and launched the owned media platform Flipkart Stories. His earlier roles include director and head, group corporate communications at Vedanta Resources, and senior vice president and head, group corporate communications at Bharti Enterprises.
Sekhar also held leadership positions at Samsung Electronics and global public relations firms Burson Marsteller and Weber Shandwick, working across technology, telecom, consumer and corporate brands.
With over two decades in strategic communications across sectors and geographies, Sekhar now steps into Air India at a pivotal moment, as the airline seeks to rewrite its narrative and reclaim a place among the world’s most admired carriers.
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.
