MAM
Dentsu’s Abhinav Kaushik joins FCB India as president
Mumbai: Taproot Dentsu’s former executive vice president & head of office – Delhi & Mumbai, Abhinav Kaushik has joined FCB India as president. Kaushik made the announcement on LinkedIn. Earlier last week he shared the news of his stepping down from his role at Dentsu and moving on, even as he kept everyone guessing as to his next move.
Kaushik joined Dentsu Marcom in 2013 as vice president in account management. In his nine years at the agency, he handled a gamut of leadership roles at Dentsu, working on many successful brand initiatives and multi-stage integrated campaigns across the funnel for brands like Honda (Honda Cars & Honda Two Wheelers), Dulux, Airtel, Microsoft, Shell, Oppo, Canon, Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail, Nokia, CP Plus, Fast&Up, Jack & Jones, Dainik Bhaskar, and Toshiba.
While moving on, Abhinav expressed his gratitude on his social media account. He wrote, “My nine years at Dentsu International India & Taproot Dentsu (A dentsuMB Company) have truly been a rollercoaster ride. What has made this ride special is the stellar team of some immensely talented people who have helped me learn every single day. As they say, great things are never done by one person, they are done by a team of people. So gratitude to all my team members, colleagues & partners. I will treasure the experience and the memories of working with you and I’m sure we will work together in the future. Over to the next chapter now. There is no finishing line”
Prior to joining Dentsu, he was vice president and client services director at J. Walter Thompson for over six years, where he worked extensively with brands such as Airtel and Sony. Microsoft, GSK, and Pizza Hut. Abhinav began his career at GE Capital before moving on to work for agencies such as Contract Advertising and M&C Saatchi London.
Previously, he has worked with agencies such as Contract and M&C Saatchi. He started his career in sales and marketing at GE Capital, working on the branding, integrated marketing, planning, strategising, and repositioning exercises for brands such as Airtel, Sony (Bravia, Vaio, Cybershot, Walkman, Handycam), GSK (Boost portfolio), Pizza Hut, Dabur (Real Juices’ portfolio), NIIT, Microsoft, British Airways, Shell, Indian School of Business, Revlon, Godfrey Phillips, and Asian Paints.
Brands
Abhinav Rastogi named global marketing director for YouTube Shopping
Google veteran to scale creator commerce and expand shopping across global markets
SINGAPORE: Abhinav Rastogi has stepped into a new role as global marketing director for YouTube Shopping, marking the latest chapter in a more than decade-long career at Google.
Rastogi, who took on the position in February and is based in Singapore, will lead global marketing for YouTube Shopping, a platform designed to connect creators, viewers and merchants in a single ecosystem. His remit includes expanding the service into new markets and strengthening its positioning as a growth channel for both creators and brands.
In a reflective note on the transition, Rastogi pointed to a simple but powerful idea driving the role. For years, creators have quietly built trust with audiences through consistent and authentic content, and that trust often shapes purchasing decisions. What is changing now, he said, is the infrastructure around that behaviour. YouTube Shopping aims to make it easier for viewers to discover and buy products recommended by creators they already follow.
The scale is already significant. More than half a million creators have joined the programme, with recent expansion into Japan through a partnership with Rakuten signalling further global ambitions.
Rastogi believes the future of shopping on YouTube will be driven by a blend of creators, content and communities. In his view, it is the human voice behind the screen, not just the product, that ultimately builds trust and drives discovery.
Prior to this role, he served as director of marketing, YouTube Asia Pacific, where he led regional marketing across creator engagement, brand building and reputation. During that time, he played a key role in launching and scaling YouTube Shopping across eight markets in the region.
Earlier stints at Google include group product marketing manager, consumer apps, overseeing growth for products such as Search, Maps and Assistant across India and Southeast Asia, and product marketing manager roles spanning consumer apps and YouTube, where he contributed to launches including YouTube Music, YouTube Originals and YouTube Shorts.
Rastogi began his career in consulting with Boston Consulting Group and A.T. Kearney, before moving into the technology sector. He is an alumnus of Indian Institute of Management Calcutta and Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur.
Alongside his corporate role, he is also an active angel investor, backing early-stage startups in consumer technology and electric mobility across India and Southeast Asia.
As he settles into the new role, Rastogi is betting on a future where every video can double up as a storefront, and where commerce feels less like a transaction and more like a recommendation from a trusted voice.
